Investigating a possible Spanish Military Structure at the Site of San Joseph de Sapala, Sapelo Island, Georgia

Christopher R. Moore; Richard Jefferies

Investigating a possible Spanish Military Structure at the Site of San Joseph de Sapala, Sapelo Island, Georgia

Author(s): Christopher R. Moore; Richard Jefferies

Year: 2016

Summary

For the past 10 years, the Sapelo Island Mission Period Archaeological Project (SIMPAP) has been surveying and testing the site of the Mission San Joseph de Sapala on Sapelo Island, Georgia. Over this time we have learned a great deal about the site’s Guale Indian and Spanish inhabitants. Among the most interesting contexts investigated is a Spanish structure with a likely military function. Architectural and other features associated with the structure yielded a relatively high frequency of Euroamerican ceramics and porcelain, and the areas in and around the structure have yielded the majority of the site’s military hardware. In this paper we investigate the possibility that this structure was occupied by a high-status Spanish officer, perhaps the captain of the island’s military garrison.

Cite this Record

Investigating a possible Spanish Military Structure at the Site of San Joseph de Sapala, Sapelo Island, Georgia. Christopher R. Moore, Richard Jefferies. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434667)