Nearly half of the Confederate earthwork known as Fort Pocahontas has been removed by hand in order to reveal the southern half of James Fort, which was constructed by English colonists in 1607. The location is an ideal spot for fortifications, with views of Virginia’s James River. Archaeologists from Jamestown Rediscovery found an underground, timber-lined room where Confederate soldiers could hide during a bombardment. They also have recovered hundreds of seventeenth-century artifacts from the soil used to construct the earthworks, such as a paring knife and Elizabethan coins. “Destroying a Confederate fort to get to James Fort is a shame. But Virginia has lots of Confederate forts, but there’s only one James Fort. And it’s stunning what they’ve found there,” commented historical archaeologist Al Luckenbach.

A genetic study of the nuclear DNA of modern horses by researchers from Cambridge University indicates that horses were domesticated 6,000 years ago in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe. This corresponds with archaeological evidence, which includes traces of mare’s milk found in pots, graves for horses, and horses depicted in artwork. Previous studies of mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited only through mothers, had suggested that horses were domesticated in many different times and places. Now scientists think that wild mares were used to replenish domesticated herds as horsemen spread across Europe and Asia.

Roberta Gilchrist of the University of Reading has re-examined the unpublished excavation records made at Glastonbury Abbey in the 1950s and 1960s and obtained new radiocarbon dates from the site. Her work has shown that its glass-making furnaces date to the 680s, and are the oldest in Britain. Fragments of crucibles and blue-green glass have also been found. The glass will be analyzed to determine where the materials originated.

In Ocala, Florida, archaeologists working near the city hall found artifacts dating back to the eighteenth century and the foundation of what could be the old Ocala courthouse, which was built before the Civil War. The city was destroyed by fire in 1883. “The area where they are working is the oldest part of the city of Ocala,” said Willet Boyer of the College of Central Florida.

This entry was posted by Jessica E. Saraceni on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. Discussion of this blog entry is now closed.

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