he
manufacture of iron. The previously mentioned pit within the area of the
Confederate Fort yielded sword parts, gun parts, bar iron, and small
tools, indicating a forge site, perhaps an armorer's forge.

[Illustration: MAKING POTTERY AT JAMESTOWN. (Conjectural sketch by
Sidney E. King.)]

[Illustration: HOW AN IRONWORKING PIT WAS USED. (From contemporary
sources.)]

[Illustration: CROSS SECTION OF A BRICK-CASED WELL AT JAMESTOWN.
(Conjectural sketch by Sidney E. King.)]

[Illustration: ONE OF THE INTRIGUING MYSTERIES OF JAMESTOWN IS HOW THE
LEFT LEG AND LEFT HALF OF A HUMAN PELVIS CAME TO BE THROWN WITH OTHER
REFUSE INTO A WELL BEHIND THE ROW HOUSE. THE LOGICAL INFERENCE IS THAT A
REBEL OR CRIMINAL HAD BEEN HANGED, DRAWN, AND QUARTERED.]

Wells

At Jamestown, wells are conspicuous features near many house locations.
Those that have been found may be summarized as follows: wood lined--1;
circular, brick cased--10; circular, uncased with wooden barrel at
bottom--6; circular, uncased, incompletely excavated--4.

Wells are invariably found filled with earth mixed with trash, mainly
food animal bones. A well, located immediately north of the row house,
had a human left leg and left half of the pelvis buried in the fill at a
depth of 4 feet.

Ditches

The most significant feature determining landholdings are the ditches of
the Jamestown area. During the 1954-56 explorations 63 ditches were
added to the 33 previously discovered, thus increasing the opportunity
to delineate property lines, many of which used to be bounded by such
ditches.

[Illustration: CAREFUL EXCAVATION WAS REQUIRED TO IDENTIFY THE FILL OF
LONG-OBLITERATED DITCHES ONCE DRAINING FIELDS AND MARKING PROPERTY
BOUNDARIES.]

Refuse Pits

"James Citty," like all other settlements in all ages, had to have
places for disposal of refuse. That much refuse was disposed of by
casting it in the James River is unlikely, since before the dawn of
history it has been a trait of man to live on top of his own refuse
rather than litter a shore with it. While it may be that no pits were
dug purposely for refuse disposal, pits opened for brick or ceramic clay
(or dug for ice houses, wells, or other purposes and later abandoned)
were used for dumping trash. In 1955 a refuse pit almost 40 feet square
was discovered in the "industrial area" near the workshop, ironworking
pit, and pottery kilns. Filled with trash from the first half of the
17th century, this