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 The Greatest Archaeology Book Ever! April 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Martin's Hundred" by Ivor Noel Hume is as exciting as a detective story and contains the best prose ever spilled on the subject of archaeology. Hume, the Father of Historical Archaeology, was the head archaeologist at Colonial Williamsburg (CW) for many years, and was once given the job of archaeologically investigating the expansive grounds of the James River estate known as Carter's Grove. He was actually looking for the underground remains of 18th century buildings that could be interpreted during tours of the mansion, which was to about to open to the public. What Hume and his associates actually found, completely by accident (as the best mysteries always unravel), was what was left of 17th century Wolstenholme Towne - an English settlement at a place called Martin's Hundred that had been completely lost to history after its destruction in the Indian Massacre of 1622. This book gives a blow by blow description of the finding and further excavations of this long lost settlement, and describes in exciting detail how the archaeologists and other researchers searched the globe for answers to the mysteries and questions raised by the dig. The story takes the reader from Virginia to England, Bermuda, Turkey, Holland and back to Virginia on an epic quest of high adventure. When I first read this book I was a young student archaeologist at Jamestown, Virginia, and overnight it became the best book about an archaeological excavation that I had ever read - although I had not read many at that point. A decade later, and after reading countless other popular and academic books, reports, and articles as a professional archaeologist, "Martin's Hundred" is still by far my favorite. Archaeologists normally write site reports, and if they actually publish anything at all it is laden with all kinds of anthropological jargon and dry, factual descriptions that the public (and even many other archaeologists!) can't understand. This book is the antithesis of that because it was written by a self-effacing, humorous, English gentleman with a great talent for using the English language as it is supposed to be used - with grace and flair and a unique style. I give this book the highest recommendation possible, and only wish that there were more books about archaeology as great as this one is.
 Digging For Something Greater Than Gold September 28, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It's been said that the extent of most Americans' knowledge of their colonial history encompasses the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In fact much else occurred over a period of almost 200 years: the Lost Colony at Roanoke, the Dutch colony of New Netherland, Roger Williams and William Penn's settlement of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania as havens for religious freedom, the bloodiest per capita conflict on American soil (King Phillip's War), the Palatine migration of the 1700s...
On the eve of the 400th anniversary of the first permanent settlement in America, Jamestown, Ivor Noel Hume's "Martin's Hundred" is an excellent launching point for learning about our antecedents and their attempts at colonization in the New World. Martin's Hundred was settled not far from Jamestown only 12 years after the first Jamestown settlers arrived. At one time the settlement had several hundred residents, with a fort, potter's hut, dwellings, etc. The "town" holds the distinction of being the first settlement destroyed by Indians, in 1622, when two-thirds of the populace was massacred. There was a fitful effort to reestablish the village, but it eventually died out. It was plowed under in the 18th century after a plantation, Carter's Grove, was built on top of it.
The exact location of the Martin's Hundred settlement was unknown until the 1970s, when archaeologist Hume chanced upon it during preparations for a renaissance of Carter's Grove. Hume's book traces the archaeological discoveries and subsequent research of this fascinating village. I was more intrigued by the history, while the archaeological discussion of potsherds and postholes became a little tedious. However, the reader comes away with a great appreciation for the patience, research, and organization that accompanies historical archaeology. Hume had to deal not only with pesky reporters, for whom the discovery represented major news in the popular press, but also cold, rainy weather conditions (which had the potential to destroy valuable artifacts), and the fickle reliability of summer interns.
Hume comes across as a true Renaissance man. For many of the clues and artifacts, he consulted obscure European etchings and paintings of the early 17th century, using these to substantiate many of his finds. A discriminating reader might view this with a jaundiced eye, but Hume is humble enough to avoid making sweeping pronouncements of his finds.
I can't imagine a better introduction to historical archaeology than "Martin's Hundred." Just continue plunging past the endless potsherds and postholes, and you'll be rewarded; much like what happened to me when I saw the photo of a piece of porcelain with the year "1631" etched into it. Truly breathtaking.
Gets better with every read. June 20, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I first read "Martin's Hundred" while I was in elementary school and hung on every word. Fifteen years later I bought a copy and reread it, and I have read it again every three or four years for another decade still. Here's why "Martin's Hundred" is so good: Ivor Noel Hume's prose. Gentle, funny, self-effacing, and erudite, Hume's narrative of archeological discovery is a nonfiction page-turner. The evidence of a 17th-century English colony in Virginia is fragmentary, and only luck and patient scholarship sustained over many years yields a coherent picture of what happened and when. In the hands of some writers this could be deadly material, but Hume's elegant turn of phrase makes the story crackle along. This is a book to curl up with on a rainy day.
Scholarly and entertaining September 14, 2005
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
It is rare that an academic book, no matter what the subject, will both inform as well as entertain. This book does both in spades. It details the four-year excavation project (much of it supported by the National Geographic Society) of part of the Carter's Grove plantation, near Jamestown, Virginia, in the hopes of finding evidence of earlier inhabitation and clues to the 1622 Indian "massacre" that occured there. Before it was all over, a fort, a lost town (Wolstenholme Towne), and the skeletal remains of at least three victims of the Indian attack were unearthed. Hume tells of the archealogical excavation in great detail, yet avaoids the ho-hum pitfalls such detailed scientific explanations might produce by utilizing a very approachable style, filled with humor and good cheer, especially when the weather got bad. Even archeologists are human after all, and false leads, wild goose chases, and seemingly endless unanswerable questions plague them as much as the rest of us; Hume's dealing with that in very human terms we all can appreciate makes this book a welcomed exception to the general rule. An excellent book.
One small quibble: in discussing the wooden palisade that surrounded the fort, Hume refers to a "Fort Laramie-style wall of pointed tree trunks." It's true that many American forts in the West had that kind of protective wall around them, but Fort Laramie never did; it had no wall around it at all.
An outstanding book for the non-archaeologist May 2, 2003
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I purchased this book on a visit to Williamsburg and it sat on my shelf for quite a while before I seriously dove in. This book combines a clear explaination of archaeological methods with the building suspense of a good detective novel. As The author and his team uncover the existence of an early Virginia colony and utilize an astounding range of techniques and research to slowly piece together the lives of the inhabitants you will be drawn into the past. More than that you will be excited to read on and discover with these archaeologists what really happened. I.N. Hume writes eloquently on all aspects of organizing and proceeding with a project of this scale and mixes those details regarding administration and method with the fascinating story of the settlement of Martin's Hundred flawlessly. I could not imagine a better introduction to the discipline of archaeology for the layperson.
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