Making pottery at Jamestown. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)
How an ironworking pit was used. (From contemporary sources.)
Cross section of a brick-cased well at Jamestown. (Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)
One of the intriguing mysteries of Jamestown is how the left leg and left half of a human pelvis came to be thrown with other refuse into a well behind the row house. The logical inference is that a rebel or criminal had been hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Wells
At Jamestown, wells are conspicuous features near many house locations. Those that have been found may be summarized as follows: wood lined—1; circular, brick cased—10; circular, uncased with wooden barrel at bottom—6; circular, uncased, incompletely excavated—4.
Wells are invariably found filled with earth mixed with trash, mainly food animal bones. A well, located immediately north of the row house, had a human left leg and left half of the pelvis buried in the fill at a depth of 4 feet.