JAMESTOWN, Virginia (AP) ? In 1957, archaeologists determined that the remains of the historic fort at Jamestown no longer existed and had probably washed into the James River. But a young graduate student named William Kelso wasn?t convinced.

Three decades after visiting the site of North America?s first permanent English settlement, Kelso returned as an archaeologist and discovered evidence of the fort?s remains. He and his team have gone on to discover hundreds of thousands of 17th century artefacts. Today, as Virginia prepares to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the settlement, Kelso is chief archaeologist of the site and one of the experts consulted during the making of ?The New World,? the $30 million Hollywood epic starring Colin Farrell that opens January 13.

In the 1960s as a graduate student eager to see the site of the fort on Jamestown Island, Kelso was disheartened when a park ranger told him that nothing was left of it.

Excavations before the 350th anniversary of the colony?s founding had uncovered no evidence of the structure, and scientists concluded that it and the land around it had been washed away.

But Kelso looked at a cross-section of a mound of dirt left from the dig and saw different colours in the soil, an indication of historical periods. ?What about that dark layer there?? he asked. The question lay in the back of Kelso?s mind for more than 30 years, until he returned as an archaeologist to search for remains of the fort.

The dark layer was, in fact, significant. Kelso began work alone with a shovel in April 1994, and within an hour was finding artefacts. Since then, he and a team have found the entire outline of the triangular fort built in 1607. Among the major discoveries at the settlement has been a skeleton believed to belong to one of the colony?s founders, Bartholomew Gosnold, although the identity could not be proved through DNA tests.

One of Kelso?s favourite relics from the fort is a signet ring bearing the family crest of William Strachey, a friend of William Shakespeare who arrived in 1610 after the Sea Venture wrecked in Bermuda after a hurricane. Strachey?s written description may have inspired the setting for Shakespeare?s ?The Tempest?.

?Most people don?t think American history can be Shakespearean,? Kelso said. ?We always start American history with Washington and Jefferson.?