This weekend we took the opportunity to visit Jamestown. They have an exhibition of 16th-century watercolor drawings by John White on loan from the British Museum. John White provided a visual record of the 1585 voyage to Virginia. It was the artist who provided a visual record of the lands and people seen on explorations. His work went back to England and were turned into woodcuts or engravings so they could be printed in books. The watercolors were magnificent. The details in his drawing were amazing. His work was placed in an album which later was in a fire. The album suffered water damage. To save the work, paper was inserted between the pages and then the album was pressed while it dried. We saw the inserts, they absorbed much of the paint from the original works. It makes one wonder what the watercolors looked like originally.

After looking at the exhibit we decided to walk around the reenactment areas. We went to a replica of a Powhatan village. It was amazing to see their homes and what their lifestyle was like.





This is inside one of their homes. They were each a little different, but generally contained the same items. They had benches built along the walls from long poles. These were covered with woven mats and deer skins. There was usually some shelving used to store baskets and containers made from gourds.





The walls were used to store fishing and hunting equipment and pelts.
We saw some partially made baskets hanging upside down. It was easier to weave, the material was less likely to tangle.

We also went to see replicas of the sailing ships used by the Virginia company when settling Jamestown. I was amazed how small they were. After watching shows like Master and Commander you think they are really big.






This is below deck on the largest of the three ships. They never had to use the cannons. The captain was Christopher Newport, a privateer. Newport News is named after him.


As we walked around the area we saw two deer, really added to the authenticity.