crests, veined
leaves, rosettes, flowers, geometric designs, a lion, and a face or
mask. Many fragments of molded plaster cornices have also been
excavated. Broken oyster shells are distinguishable in the decorated
plasterwork, indicating that the pargeting was done at Jamestown.

House Furnishings

Busy conquering a stubborn wilderness, the first Jamestown settlers had
only a few things to make their houses cosy and cheerful. In most cases,
their worldly goods consisted of a few cooking utensils, a change of
clothing, a weapon or two, and a few pieces of homemade furniture.
However, between 1607 and 1612, George Percy was generously outfitted
with some necessities as well as much fine apparel and numerous luxury
items (including a feather bed) by his brother the Ninth Earl of
Northumberland, as published records of the Earl's expenditures for
George show. Other persons of gentle birth and position quite probably
enjoyed similar goods.

After the early years of hardship had passed, the colonists began to
acquire possessions for a more pleasant living; and by 1650 the better
houses were equipped with most of the necessities of life of those
times, as well as a few luxuries of comfortable living.

FURNITURE

Very little furniture was brought over from England during the early
years of the colony. Perhaps a few chests and Bible boxes were imported,
but most of the large pieces of furniture, such as tables, chairs,
bedsteads, chests-of-drawers, cupboards, benches, and cradles would
have been made in Virginia. Woods commonly used included pine, cedar,
walnut, maple, and oak.

[Illustration: FURNITURE HARDWARE AND ACCESSORIES FOUND. MUCH OF THE
FURNITURE USED IN THE JAMESTOWN HOUSES WAS MADE IN VIRGINIA.]

Furniture hardware and accessories excavated at Jamestown include
hinges, locks, drawer pulls, chest handles, escutcheon plates,
upholstering tacks, hasps, and finials. Most of the furniture hardware
is of brass (probably used after 1650). Since much of it is skillfully
decorated, it is believed that it once was attached to furniture of high
quality. Furniture used during the first two decades of the settlement,
however, must have been simple with little or no ornamentation.

LIGHTING DEVICES

The candle, made of either tallow or bayberry wax, was the standard
lighting device at Jamestown. Pine torches were often used out of doors,
and rushlights and candlewood were undoubtedly used in the humbler
dwellin