History News Network posted this recent AP report, which may be of
interest to many...



Armor Used by Jamestown Colonists Found

                                                         04/12/05 17:52

JAMESTOWN, Va. (AP) - Archaeologists have discovered a piece of flexible
armor used by Jamestown colonists to protect themselves against Indian
attacks.

``It's marvelous to find something like that intact,'' Bly Straube, the
project's curator of artifacts, said of the jack of plate, a
tight-fitting, vest-like garment of overlapping armor plates that would
have been covered in quilted canvas on both sides.

Archaeologists previously have found loose plates at Jamestown, the first
permanent English settlement in America. But this latest discovery will
allow historians to study how the jack of plate was made.

The piece of armor, weighing an estimated 175 pounds, was discovered
Friday during excavation of a trash pit. The piece appears to date back to
the settlement's early years, before 1610, Straube said.


Archaeologists will have to chip away dirt to determine how much of the
jack of plate is there. But Michael Lavin, conservator for the Association
for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, said it appears they have at
least the back side.


The jack of plate was used by European armies in the 15th and 16th
centuries. It was out of style in Europe by the time Jamestown was
settled, but well-suited for withstanding Indian attacks, Straube said.


``With a garment like this you could rest the butt of the gun against your
chest and it wouldn't slide around,'' she said. Also, Spanish settlers to
the south found that flexible armor could stop an arrow while also
absorbing the force.


With other types of armor, an arrow could bounce off and hit someone
nearby, Straube said.


On the Net:
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities http://www.apva.org




Dr. Jon Kukla, Executive Vice-President
Red Hill - The Patrick Henry National Memorial
1250 Red Hill Road
Brookneal, Virginia 24528
www.redhill.org
Phone 434-376-2044 or 800-514-7463

Fax 434-376-2647

- M. Lynn Davis, Office Manager
- Karen Gorham-Smith, Associate Curator
- Edith Poindexter, Curator

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