POPHAM COLONY

 

 

Storehouse and Admiral Raleigh Gilbert's HouseDetail of John Hunt map

 

The John Hunt map of Fort St. George indicates that many structures were present within the fortifications. Although there is reason to doubt that all of these structures were actually built, at least two are confirmed by contemporary documentation: the storehouse and Admiral Raleigh Gilbert's house.

 

Line of posts of storehouse east wall The storehouse was the most important public building because it was there that most of the colony's vital supplies were stored. In his drawing of the east wall of the structure Hunt delineated the individual posts. Once we had found the first post in the ground, the others fell into line and the form and dimensions of the building emerged. We found many artifacts on the floor which attest to the trading and military functions of Fort St. George.

 

 

 

Chimney base of Raleigh Gilbert's houseOnce the storehouse had been found, it became a valuable reference for locating other buildings. The first of these to be discovered was Admiral Raleigh Gilbert's house, which Hunt placed about 40 feet south of the storehouse according to his scale. The house was the largest heated structure in the fort, and very close to where Hunt showed it should be we discovered a stone chimney base and hearth area. Associated with it was the burned debris from fallen walls. Within these remains were the personal effects of a leader of the colony. 

 

In 2001 we began the search for other structures within the fort that Hunt shows on his map. During the 2005 field school we will focus on the buttery and the storehouse.

 

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