Jamestown, site of the first permanent English settlement in the New World, furnishes an interesting example of the use of archaeological techniques to put factual meat on abstract or theoretical bones. For over half a century, off and on, a succession of historians, architects, engineers, and archaeologists have sought physical evidence in the earth to identify the location of vaguely defined landholdings and buildings, the first fort built in 1607 by the first contingent of settlers, and clues to everyday living habits as shown by utensils and implements.