POPHAM
COLONY
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Artifacts
The assemblage of artifacts from Fort St. George represents a cultural fossil that spans only a single year from the spring of 1607, when the colony set forth, to the following spring when it was resupplied. A second supply that reached the fort in late summer-early autumn 1608 probably was not off-loaded before the colony was abandoned. While the specific types of artifacts may be expected to differ, the assemblage taken to Jamestown that first year probably conformed to similar categories, qualities and quantities.
Decorations on Bellarmine sherds from
Raleigh Gilbert's house stylistically match those on a jug
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The two locations most intensively
investigated at Fort St. George, the
In addition to structural hardware, the
most common artifacts from the storehouse are items that attest to military and
trading activities, two of the most important functions of the colonists. Thus
we have found lead musket balls, gun parts, and armor in one end of the building
where the armory might have been situated. In another section, numerous glass trade beads
were found scattered on the floor. A caulking iron found nearby reminds us of
the construction of the pinnace 
Raleigh
Gilbert's house, on the other hand, has produced the finest ceramics that have yet been found at the site, as
well as numerous fragments of liquor bottles and drinking glasses. Buttons of
glass and beads of jet suggest the dress of a gentleman. Together, these items represent the personal effects of a leader of the colony who lived
better than
the average colonist.
