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Film about Bermuda and Jamestown to be shown

A facial reconstruction of ‘Jane’ of Jamestown

A film detailing the connection between Bermuda and Jamestown is set to be screened in St George’s tomorrow.

Jane — The Story of Cannibalism in Jamestown and Bermuda’s Rescue details what has become known as the starving time when the Jamestown colony was collapsing until they were saved by the arrival of ships from Bermuda.

The screening, organised by the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and the St George’s Foundation, will take place at the World Heritage Centre and will be followed by a discussion panel led by David Givens, the senior staff archeologist of Jamestown Rediscovery.

Historical evidence indicates that during the winter of 1609-10, the colonists suffered through sickness, starvation and Indian attacks led to the deaths of more than 200 men, women and children crowded into James Fort.

In 2012, archeologists working in a cellar dating back to the period found a mutilated skull and severed leg bone of an English teenage girl. She was found among butchered animal bones and other food remains discarded by the Jamestown colonists during the starving time.

While several written accounts of survival cannibalism in the American colonies exist, this was the first time that cannibalism had been proven by forensic evidence. A butchered horse and dogs were found in the same deposit, signs that they were discarded during that desperate winter. Of the 200 to 300 settlers crowded inside James Fort only 60 emaciated survivors remained to greet an arriving ship the next spring.

The screening is scheduled to begin at 6.30pm. Admission is free, but space is limited. For more details contact the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs at 292-1681.