Archaeology of the Menéndez Encampment

Archaeology of the Menéndez Encampment. . , Spanish Buildings , Some of the larger buildings constructed by the Spanish were constructed on mud sleepers , large logs split in half used as the foundation to build up from. This method of construction dates all the way back to medieval times and was widely used in areas that had soft ground which would quickly rot wooden posts that were sunk into the soil. , When they were uncovered for the first time in the late 1980s they were first suspected to be agricultural trenches. Eventually it was discovered that they formed the outline for an extremely large building over sixty feet long which is believed to be the casa de municiones that stored the settlers’ ammunition and food supplies. , The North Defensive Wall , Although history is not clear on what kind of wall was built here, records indicate that Spanish men from all ranks were involved in the labor of constructing a defensive barrier to the north to protect against the natives as well as any attack from the French at Fort Caroline in what is today Jacksonville. Test units chased the wall all the way to the waterfront in the east, ending in a large structure that may have been a small watchtower or gatehouse. , Archaeology in the Park , The Fountain of Youth Park has been home to many archaeological excavations over the decades, with many of them focused on uncovering the details of the Spanish settlers' 1565 encampment. The white lines on the map below indicate the many carefully mapped test pits that have been excavated by archaeologists in the past 60 years. Within those test pits, the marks inside indicate other features , usually postholes associated with buildings. , Spanish Barrel Wells , There are several natural springs in the area, but once the fortification wall was constructed across the north boundary of the camp the Spanish needed access to clean water without the risk of venturing outside of the safe area. To do this, they created wells by digging holes and stacking three to five barrels on top of each other to keep the soft sand from collapsing back into the well shaft. , The barrel wells at the Fountain of Youth had several 16th-century artifacts in them, including an almost complete olive jar that may have been used to gather water. The discovery of these wells helped to establish this area as the landing spot for the Spanish settlers. , Native American Buhillos , By the time the Spanish had arrived, Timucua Indians were already living year-round at the site. Historic accounts say that the Spanish first lived in these small circular huts before beginning to construct buildings of their own from wood and palmetto thatch. , Today archaeologists can still see the footprint of these huts by the circle of posthole stains left in the ground, as well as the charred earth from the hearth that burned in the center of the small building's single room. , [photo captions] , . Photo of the northern defensive wall (north edge of unit). Photo courtesy of Mischa Johns. , . The barrel well (left) and the olive jar (below) that came from it. Photos courtesy of the Florida Museum of Natural History.