Queen Elizabeth II digs Jamestown

Jamestown colony was founded in 1607, which makes this its 400th anniversary. On Saturday, the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh toured the James Fort archaeological excavations and the Archaearium recently built to display many of the artifacts unearthed there by APVA Preservation Virginia and the College of William and Mary.

As reported by Caren Bohan of Reuters, the Queen's visit to the archaeological excavation allowed her to imagine "something of the experience of those early settlers when they first made landfall on the James River." Photographs currently posted on Yahoo! News even show her getting down into an excavation pit while Prince Philip helps out sieving for artifacts.

Vice President Richard Cheney and his wife Lynn Cheney represented our government throughout the Jamestown 400th Anniversary celebration. In his remarks welcoming her majesty to England's former colony, the Vice President emphasized important traditions which the colonists brought with them to their new home - liberty and law; private property; the spirit of enterprise; and commerce among peoples. The official White House press release about the Queen's visit notes that "President Bush and the First Lady visited England in November 2003 and welcome the opportunity to return that hospitality" to their counterparts from across the pond.