The staff that I was working on a road construction project in the center of a town in Florida made a surprising discovery underground: a 19th century ship. The state Department of Transportation said crews were working on a drainage improvement project in the area of King Street and State Road A1A, at the base of the Lions Bridge in downtown St. Augustinewhen they came across some wooden logs.
They soon discovered that the wood was part of a well-preserved boat approximately six meters long. The company Southeastern Archaeological Research, or SEARCH, had been hired before the start of the project to handle any historical discoveries.
SEARCH is now working to exhume the boat, which SEARCH Vice President James Delgado told First Coast News “has the characteristics of a locally built vessel, probably used for fishing or perhaps general commerce.”
Delgado said the team also found other objects at the site, including an old leather shoe: “We have seen fragments of ancient ceramic containers, bottles, rusty pieces of iron, as well as bone cuts, possibly from someone’s dinner. “They may have scraped the plate in the water.”
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Florida Maritime History Beneath the Waves
History is embedded in the Florida Keys, both above and below the water. Over a 500-year history, it is estimated that there have been more than 1,000 shipwrecks in the waters of the Florida Keys, according to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Stories of the past, from the 16th century to modern times, can be revealed by these shipwrecks and historical resources found in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Maritime heritage includes those who lived in the Florida Keys and considered the coastal waters their backyard, as well as ocean voyagers who journeyed far from home. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary documents these historic remains.
Over the past 30 years, collaborative efforts to document underwater historic resources in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary have included federal and state partners, volunteers, university researchers, historic resource permit holders, and private residents who have contributed to 122 projects.
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