The History and Proposed Archaeological Survey of Saint Augustine’s Matanzas Inlet

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Current Maritime Research in Saint Augustine, Florida", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Saint Augustine’s southern inlet has a long and bloody maritime history, much of which has yet to be explored archaeologically. Despite being somewhat shallower than Saint Augustine’s primary inlet, the Matanzas Inlet has long served as a “back door” to the port, and never having been commercially dredged, its potential for well-preserved shipwrecks is high. With an upcoming geophysical survey planned for summer 2025, LAMP is hoping to discover as-of-yet undisturbed physical remains from the inlet’s 450 years of maritime activity. This presentation will overview the historical context of the inlet as well as expound on what LAMP expects and hopes to find during survey operations. Despite Saint Augustine’s long Spanish history, no confirmed Spanish vessel remains have ever been discovered on its coast. This project has the potential to change that discrepancy and reveal a richer understanding of the Matanzas Inlet’s contribution to the maritime history of Saint Augustine.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Current Maritime Research in Saint Augustine, Florida   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow