Fort Caroline’s Legacy: surveying for a missing fort

Summary

This paper summarizes the history and archaeology of Fort Caroline, a French outpost established in North Florida in 1564, then captured and occupied by the Spanish who renamed it Fort San Mateo. To date only one French artifact has been identifed for the 16th century time period and it was recovered from a dredge spoil pile along the river. Several archaeological surveys have been undertaken both within National Park property and on adjacent private property along the south bank of the St. Johns River. Survey results have identified a number of prehistoric and historic sites but no evidence for the fort, leading some to suggest that the fort was located on a river system to the north of the St. Johns. Currently, we are examining new locations on the St. Johns River based on environmental data and Spanish documents.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage