Jamestown, the Buried Truth | 
 enlarge | Author: William M. Kelso
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $17.75
You Save: $12.20 (41%)
New (32) Used (19) Collectible (1) from $11.50
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 139178
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 238
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.7 x 0.9
ISBN: 0813925630
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.21
EAN: 9780813925639
ASIN: 0813925630
Publication Date: September 30, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand new hardback, never read. Same day shipping, five star service, makes a great gift!
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
What was life really like for the band of adventurers who first set foot on the banks of the James River in 1607? Important as the accomplishments of these men and women were, the written records pertaining to them are scarce, ambiguous, and often conflicting, and those curious about the birthplace of the United States are left to turn to dramatic and often highly fictionalized reports. In Jamestown, the Buried Truth, William Kelso takes us literally to the soil where the Jamestown colony began, unearthing the James Fort and its contents to reveal fascinating evidence of the lives and deaths of the first settlers, of their endeavors and struggles, and of their relationships with the Virginia Indians. He offers up a lively but fact-based account, framed around a narrative of the archaeological team's exciting discoveries. Once thought to have been washed away by the James River, James Fort still retains much of its structure, including palisade walls, bulwarks, interior buildings, a well, a warehouse, and several pits, and more than 500,000 objects have been cataloged, half dating to the time of Queen Elizabeth and King James. Artifacts especially reflective of life at James Fort include an ivory compass, Cabasset helmets and breastplates, glass and copper beads and ornaments, ceramics, tools, religious icons, a pewter flagon, and personal items. Dr. Kelso and his team of archaeologists have discovered the lost burial of one of Jamestown's early leaders, presumed to be Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, and the remains of several other early settlers, including a young man who died of a musket ball wound. In addition, they've uncovered and analyzed the remains of the foundations of Jamestown's massive capitol building. Refuting the now decades-old stereotype that attributed the high mortality rate of the Jamestown settlers to their laziness and ineptitude, Jamestown, the Buried Truth produces a vivid picture of the settlement that is far more complex, incorporating the most recent archaeology to give Jamestown its rightful place in history and thus contributing to a broader understanding of the transatlantic world.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
Neat book April 1, 2008
For many years, archeologists believed that Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World, had been washed away by the James River. In the 1990s, William Kelso and his team got permission to dig, and almost immediately began to uncover the remains of the old fort. This book, illustrated with dozens of color pictures, is Kelso's account of what they found and what it means to our understanding of who the people of Jamestown were and how they lived.
Kelso includes interesting science but still manages to write at the layman's level. This is a very neat book for those interested in the topic, and will be especially enjoyed after a visit to the Jamestowne historic site.
Reviewer: Elizabeth Clare, co-author of the historical novel "To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark"
Jamestown Rediscovered October 10, 2007
This is a good book. However, I felt a little disappointed at the end. The ending did not provide the details I was searching for.
more maps please July 5, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
fascinating especially if you love archaeological puzzles. To find the wealth of information on what was thought to be lost reveals a great and colorful adventure. However, with the profusion of compass designations used in the descriptions, I caught myselft looking for a comprehensive site map with those features identified along with compass orientation. Photos or diagrams of various aspects of the dig give only piecemeal disjointed views. Often captions use directions ("junction of east palsiade wall trench with the north bulwark) but does not orient the photograph or identify those features in the photo. A drawing of the fort superimposed on a photograph is too small, does not indicate a compass orientation, and does not identify the features shown just as one example. A nice double page fold out site map would have added a lot.
Great History Lesson June 7, 2007
Lots of details about Jamestown I never knew. The book really gives you a feel of what these people had to go through.
Take this book with you April 22, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Take this book with you when you visit Jamestown this year. 2007 is the 400th anniversary of its founding. This is an excellent account of the (still active) archaeological dig at Jamestown. The author is the primary investigator at the Jamestown site. Mr. Kelso and his team have done a wonderful job uncovering and reconstructing life in the first successful English colony in America. Not only will you learn about life in 17th century Jamestown, but you'll learn about the art and science of archaeology as well.
|
|
|
