Discovery of the earliest dated piece of American pottery
ever found elated scientists excavating sites at Carter's Grove
near Colonial Williamsburg. X-ray analysis indicates that the
dish was manufactured from Virginia clay. The plate, inscribed
1631. and hundreds of other objects found at Carter's
Grove are shedding new light on the English settlers who
endured the hardships of frontier life in the 1630's and
1640's.
Search Is On To Identify
Colonial Mystery People
By DONALD J. FREDERICK
National Geographic News
New clues to some of America's earliest unsung
heroes are surfacing in Virginia.
Just a few miles from Colonial Williamsburg on
Carter's Grove Plantation, clever archeological
detective work has uncovered artifacts that reveal new
knowledge of the lifestyles of early settlers from
England. A dish found at the site inscribed 1631 may be
the earuest dated- pffece of American pottery jet found.
Skeletal remains also have been unearthed of the
people who doggedly worked their hearts out to survive
in the 1630s and 1640s after the initial glow of discovery
and colonization had been extinguished.
Endured Many Hardships
"Very little is known about the people who stuck it out
through disease, Indian attacks, and famine, so we're
very excited about our finas,' says Ivor Noel Hume,
resident archeologist with Colonial Williamsburg, who is
directing the work at Carter's Grove. His project is
supported-by the National Geographic Society.
"Up until now it's been assumed that the early English
settlers had to live off the land and make do with rather
primitive household effects and tools, but now we're
finding,they had a wide range of sophisticated things
with them in the wilderness," reports Mr. Noel Hume.
Silver and gold threads from clothing, Venetian glass,
a gold inlaid table knife, a piece from a suit of armor, and
the slipware dish dated 1631 are among the objects
uncovered by Mr. Noel Hume and his assistants.
"Many who came over here had land and servants,"
points out Mr. Noel Hume. "Some started out in silks and
satins and ended up in canvas. The high-quality cutlery,
delftware, and other sophisticated pottery we have found
may indicate 'upstairs' people's possessions or maybe
tbey were just hand-me-downs. We just don't know who
these people were yet."
Buildings and nones
There's no question that they were settlers from
England, however. Last year supervising archeologist
Eric Klingelhofer found evidence of nine buildings, grave
sites containing the bones of 23 people, and hundreds of
artifacts on an eight-acre site at Carter's Grove.
This y( x, at a second location, separated by a steep
ravine from the first, the scientists have found a hearth
and additional postholes indicating one or two more
buildings. The new location dates from about 1630 to 1640
and is probably a little older than the other, estimated at
about 1635 to 1645.
Among the hundreds of newly found artifacts are tne
curiobs 1631 slipware dish, links of chain mail, and an
elbow piece from a suit of armor.
"The dated slipware dish is a stunning find," says Mr.
Noel Hume. "Analysis of the clay material forming the
dish indicates it was fired in a local kiln, making it the
earliest dated piece of American pottery yet found."
The dish bears a distinct squarish rim cut that is
similar to an undated plate found at the first site. There
is no evidence that the plates come from the same kiln or
were even made by the same potter.
"But one thing is certain," says Mr. Noel Hume. "Both
were made locally and by a man or men who were
accomplished craftsmen and had served their
apprenticeship in either England or Holland."
The skill and artistry shine through in a remarkable
ceramic "helm" found near the undated dish. One of the
most unusual artifacts uncovered to date, the helm
formed the top of a three-part still which may have been
used to brew medicines.
Tile Tells Tale
Broken tiles bearing tell-tale scars from the pot that
rested on them were found in the same area, indicating
there was once a pottery kiln somewhere in the vicinity,
where the helm was made.
"The helm was shaped with consummate skill, and the
artisan who fashioned it was producing wares more
sophisticated than anything yet attributed to American
ceramics in the 17th century," observes Mr. Noel Hume.
So far the kiln or kilns that produced the plates and the
helm have not been discovered. The scientists would also
like to find traces of the town of Wolstenholme, once
located in the area known as Martin's Hundred, but lost
long ago in the mists of history.
The whole region around Carter's Grove was once a
part of Martin's Hundred. In 1618 the original Virginia
Company of London, which was responsible for founding
the Jamestown Colony, granted a patent to a subsidiary
company called the Martin's Hundred Society, allotting
it a large tract of land covering 31 square miles between
the James and York Rivers.
One of the Society's founders was Sir John
Wolstenholme, and the town established in the new land
grant was named for him. The town was in existence by
1622, but the archeologists have found no buildings that
old. So the search goes on.