RICHMOND, VIRGINIA—Captain John Smith wrote that the original, three-sided James Fort was expanded and given five sides sometime in 1608, with as many as 50 houses at the site by 1609. The Williamsburg Yorktown Daily reports that archaeologists from Preservation Virginia have found the outline of the expanded fort and ten buildings. They are currently excavating an area located outside the walls of the expanded fort, where they have found a series of postholes and what may have been a pit or a well. Debris from the pit has included a spur made from copper alloy that dates from 1625 to 1650. A second building with three hearths has also been found outside the fort walls. It may have been used for industry and perhaps as a trading post. To read about evidence for the so-called "Starving Time" at the site, see "Colonial Cannibalism."
