Pocahontas rescue site protected amid row over site's significance

The site in the US where archaeologists and historians believe Pocahontas rescued English Captain John Smith from death is to be preserved under a new agreement.

But Native Americans say that event is just a footnote for the 57-acre site in Tidewater, Virginia.

They say the real story is that it was the centre of a complex, sprawling empire ruled by Pocahontas’s father, Chief Powhatan.

Chief Kevin Brown, of the local Pamunkey tribe, said it is important to note that Virginia’s history did not begin with the first permanent English settlement in 1607.

After decades of research with colonial writing, ancient maps and detective work, archaeologists concluded with near-certainty that this was Powhatan’s seat of power about 15 miles from the Jamestown colony.

The private land will be protected from development under a state easement.