Excavation at the Fortified Site, 1973, Flowerdew Hundred Collection, University of Virginia

Situated on the southside of Virginia's James River between present-day Richmond and Williamsburg, Flowerdew Hundred was the site of Native American villages, a fortified frontier settlement, a thriving plantation, and a major Civil War encampment.  The stories of Flowerdew's many different inhabitants—like the stories of many early Virginians—have long been buried in the region's soil. Over the past several decades, a clearer picture of these people, their ways of life, and Virginia's history has emerged through archaeological excavations at this historic site. Native American pottery sherds; arms and armor used to defend the new colony; refined, imported wares from Europe, and later, American-made goods, including wares manufactured by African Americans and artifacts from the Civil War tell the story of those who lived and died at Flowerdew.