Photo by Michael Lavin. Courtesy of Preservation Virginia.
By Chris Sloan, National Geographic Magazine
Scientists excavating a filled well at Historic Jamestowne near Williamsburg, Virginia have discovered what may be among the earliest drawings by English colonists who settled there.
The artifacts were found in the upper layers of the well.
If the archaeologists’ hunches are correct, this may turn out to have been the first well dug by Captain John Smith at the site, which was founded in 1607.
Shown here is a detail of the slate with what archaeologists are interpreting as an eagle.