Fort Mose

Fort Mose. . , All that remains of Fort Mose is buried underground, hidden beneath the island soil and surrounding salt marsh. , , Uncovering History , Working collaboratively, archaeologists and historians have pieced together the story of Fort Mose using historic documents, maps, aerial photos, and excavation. They identified the site of the second fort (1752-1763), and believe the remains of the first fort (1738-1740) are currently underwater., Evidence of Fort Mose is humble - bits and pieces of everyday life buried in just a few inches of brown soil. These fragile remains and a few colonial documents are the lone testaments to one of our country's most important historical sites., A Changed Landscape , In its heydey, Fort Mose was on dry land surrounded by agricultural fields. Rise in sea level combined with recent human dredging have transformed the historic fields into the brackish marshes you see today., (captions) , Artifacts recovered at the site include (left to right):iron nails, glass bead, musket balls, faunal bone remains, gun flints, Iron Strike-O-Lite, iron buckle, brass button, brass thimble, clay tobacco pipe. (Kristen Grace/Florida Museum), Archaeologists revealed a thin layer of brown soil that contained evidence of Fort Mose (Historical Archaeology Collections/ Florida Museum)