Reconstructing British Colony in Jamestown Subject of Archaeology Lecture

Williams Kelso to speak at The College of Wooster on Oct. 27

WOOSTER, Ohio — William Kelso, Director of Research and Interpretation for the Preservation Virginia Jamestown Rediscovery Project, will present “Jamestown Lost and Found: The Archaeology of the First Permanent English Colony in America” on Thursday, Oct. 27, at The College of Wooster. Kelso’s lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University St.). A reception with beverages and snacks will be held in the foyer outside of the lecture room after the presentation.

The ongoing Jamestown Rediscovery Archaeological Project has made it possible to imagine, in ever increasing higher resolution, the heretofore lost plan of the first permanent English colony that became the genesis of the British Empire. Archaeologically determined time lines clearly reflect the process by which the Jamestown settlers either realized or compromised their “New World” expectations in the face of the alien natural and cultural Chesapeake environment. Rediscovery archaeologists have located 15 early 17th century sealed archaeological deposits within the 1607-1624 original Fort walls. These contained more than 1.2 million artifacts. A number of the artifacts and two unmarked graves can be historically and scientifically identified with individuals who have documented life stories. Their biographies, together with these personal effects, offer a fresh way to assess the clash of the British and native Powhatan Empires, where modern America began.

Kelso’s lecture is sponsored by the Archaeology Student Colloquium, the Program in Archaeology, the Local Society of the Archaeological Institute of America, the Cultural Events Committee, and the local chapter of Lambda Alpha National Honorary Society in Anthropology.

Additional information is available by phone (330-263-2474) or e-mail.