GLOUCESTER, VIRGINIA—Fifty-seven acres of private land in Virginia thought to be the site of Werowocomoco, home to the great leader Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas, will be preserved. Powhatan ruled a population of 15,000 to 20,000 people in the early seventeenth century, when Jamestown was founded some 15 miles away. Landowner Lynn Ripley found arrowheads, spear tips, pipe stems, pottery shards, and pieces of copper while walking her dog. Using the writings of Captain John Smith and historic maps, archaeologists have concluded that she discovered Werowocomoco, and to date, only about two percent of the site has been investigated. “I want people to understand there was a real civilization, a complex cultural community that existed prior to European colonization,” added Ashley Atkins, a doctoral candidate at the College of William & Mary.
