The Investigation of the Anniversary Wreck, a Colonial Merchant Ship Lost off St. Augustine, Florida: Results of the 2017 Excavation Season

Summary

In July 2015, during the city’s 450th anniversary celebration, a buried shipwreck was discovered off St. Augustine, Florida by the St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, or LAMP. Test excavations in 2015-2016 revealed a remarkable amount of material culture, including barrels, cauldrons, pewter plates, shoe buckles, cut stone, and a variety of glass and ceramics. These tentatively dated the vessel to 1750-1800 and suggested its nationality was likely British but possibly Spanish or American. The abundance, spatial distribution, and stylistic uniformity of the artifacts suggest they were cargo items, leading to the working hypothesis that this was a merchant ship run aground while trying to enter St. Augustine’s notoriously dangerous inlet. In the summer of 2017, with a team of field school students and volunteer divers, LAMP returned to the site to conduct further excavation. This paper summarizes the results of the 2017 season on this shipwreck.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 918