Continuing Archaeology

Continuing Archaeology. 2015 Dig, Site B. , You are Standing in the First Colony of St. Augustine , On September 8th, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Aviles came ashore here. At that time, this field was part of the Timucua town of Seloy , an easily defensible peninsula that would serve as the Menéndez expedition's base of operations. , While searching for the French in the initial stages of his campaign, Menéndez spotted our inlet and beach on the day of the Feast of St. Augustine of Hippo, and so he named the fledgling outpost San Agustín. On September 8th, 1565, this tiny settlement hosted a Thanksgiving celebration between Europeans and Native Americans 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, and 42 years before the British established the colony of Jamestown. , The Menéndez settlement was the logistical base for the overland attack on the French stronghold of Fort Caroline, and the twin slaughters of the shipwrecked Frenchmen at the next inlet south, which was eventually named Matanzas (slaughter) Inlet. , The settlement in the field before you lasted roughly nine months before deteriorating relations with the Timucua forced the Spanish to relocate to Anastasia Island. The location of the Anastasia Island settlement eludes historians to this day, and has probably been lost to development and the natural erosion of the island's eastern shoreline. Soon after the Spanish moved, a mysterious nighttime fire consumed the largest structure, seen here in the upper middle of the settlement. It is believed that this structure was the Casa de Municiónes, which had earlier contained the settlement's gunpowder and weapons stores. The Spanish stayed on Anastasia Island for roughly six years before relocating to what is now the area of St. Augustine southwest of the Bridge of Lions. , Revealing the Past, One Centimeter at a Time , The Park owners have, for over three quarters of a century, been dedicated to retaining only qualified, professional archaeologists from major universities and museums to excavate these sensitive grounds. Even though archaeological digging has been occurring since 1934, it is estimated that only 35% of the Park has been excavated and catalogued. According to Dr. Kathy Deagan, it is "a game of inches." As the archaeological team exposes an area, valuable structures can be missed by less than a foot! In addition, the team exposes a centimeter at a time using a dirt scraping process called "schnitting." This exacting process is very time-consuming.