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The North Carolina Department of Transportation Presents
The Eden House Site: An Early Albemarle Settlement on the Chowan River
Charles II Sleeve Link

      This pewter sleeve button, or cuff link, celebrated the
Charles II Sleve Link
Charles II Sleeve Link
Restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, when Charles II became the King of England. Kings and queens had ruled England for many centuries until a Civil War ended the power of the royalty in the l640s. The military under Oliver Cromwell then gained government control until Cromwell died in 1658. The English returned or "restored" kings and queens to power in 1660, and Charles II became king. Many English people celebrated the Restoration, as this event was called. Some people showed their support by purchasing jewelry and buttons made with pictures of the king, like the example found at the Eden House site.
 

      This sleeve button was an important artifact for the archaeologists to find. They discovered it in the soil filling a hole the
King Charles II
King Charles II
colonists dug during the construction of the first house at the site. Since archaeologists found the button at the bottom of the hole, they believe it dropped off of someone's shirt into the hole while the house was being built. Because the button was not made until 1660, it would have been impossible for the house to have been built before then. The accidental loss of this button by a worker nearly three hundred years ago really helped archaeologists in dating the house.