Improving Conditions for the Jamestown Rediscovery Collection

FAIN: PF-249689-16

Preservation Virginia (Richmond, VA 23220-5012)
William M. Kelso (Project Director: December 2015 to present)

Improvement of environmental conditions through replacement of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and controls in storage and display areas, and conversion to LED lighting in the museum.  The two million artifacts in the archaeological collection document one of the earliest colonial settlements in the New World and would be rehoused and reorganized as part of the project.

The Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia), which is responsible for daily operations at Historic Jamestowne, will undertake a two-year project to improve the storage environment of its unparalleled archaeological collection. To this end, outdated and inefficient Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment and controls in three artifact storage and display areas will be replaced with greener systems. The lighting in the archaeological museum will be converted to LED lamps. The collection will be rehoused and reorganized to accommodate a continually expanding assemblage of artifacts from archaeological excavations and reduce the time needed to access materials. The project will allow JRF to save energy and money whilst ensuring sustainable protection of this unique and irreplaceable cultural heritage collection.