Archaeologists Unearth 11,000 Artifacts at Fones Cliffs — Sites Linked to John Smith’s 1608 Account

Archaeologists excavating along Virginia's Rappahannock River have uncovered roughly 11,000 Indigenous artifacts at the Fones Cliffs sites — a collection researchers say corresponds to villages English explorer Captain John Smith described during his 1608 mapping expedition.

Significant Finds

The team recovered beads, pottery sherds, stone tools and tobacco pipes, some of which may date to the 1500s. These material remains provide tangible evidence of long-term Indigenous occupation in the river valley and match descriptions recorded in early European documents as well as Rappahannock oral histories.

Research Approach and Context

Lead archaeologist Julia King of St. Mary's College of Maryland said the project combined archival research, tribal oral histories and on-the-ground survey work — "walking the land" — to locate likely village sites on a stretch of riverfront fronted by high cliffs. The cliffs would have limited approaches from below while offering commanding views up and down the valley and fertile soils suitable for maize cultivation.

"The presence of these artifacts confirms both oral histories and documents that suggested settlements were located here in 1608," said Julia King.

Historical and Cultural Significance

The Rappahannock River takes its name from the Rappahannock people, one of 11 Indigenous groups officially recognized in Virginia. Many tribal members still live nearby and are working with private partners and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to acquire or protect key ancestral sites. King emphasized that the river valley remains the Rappahannock people's homeland regardless of modern land ownership.

Seventeenth-century documents — including John Smith's own writings — record a land transfer in which the Rappahannock agreed to give about 25,000 acres (roughly 10,100 hectares) to Jamestown colonists in exchange for blankets, beads and tools. Historians and Indigenous scholars caution that European concepts of permanently "selling" land may not match Indigenous understandings at the time, which could have implied shared use or temporary arrangements.

Scholarly Reactions

NYU historian Karen Ordahl Kupperman, an expert on John Smith who was not involved in the dig, noted that Smith corroborated parts of his map with Chesapeake Algonquian companions. She added that such discoveries increasingly arise from collaborations between archaeologists and modern Native communities.

Independent historian David Price called the artifacts "wonderful finds," saying they deepen knowledge of Rappahannock-English interactions during the precarious early years of English exploration, when Native communities and settlers shaped one another's histories through trade, diplomacy and conflict.

Implications

Beyond expanding historical and archaeological knowledge, the discoveries could influence local development decisions and strengthen the Rappahannock tribe's efforts to protect ancestral lands. The finds also highlight the value of integrating oral history with documentary and archaeological evidence.