To celebrate St. Augustine’s 450th birthday, UF archaeologists are revisiting the excavation site of the oldest stone mission church in colonial Spanish Florida.
Over the course of 40 years, UF researchers have been sifting through the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, said Julie Waters, an exhibit developer at the Florida Museum of Natural History. But from Aug. 24 until Friday, UF researchers are revisiting the excavation site, which is open to the public.
Any new findings will be bagged and analyzed later, said Paul Ramey, the museum’s assistant director of marketing and public relations.
An exhibit that features some of the church artifacts, called “First Colony: Our Spanish Origins,” is currently on display in St. Augustine at Government House, located at 48 King St., until Sunday. The exhibit will be on display in Gainesville at the Florida Museum from Oct. 17 to April 17, said Kaitlin Gardiner, marketing and public relations coordinator for the museum.
“The exhibit’s focus is to educate and inform the public about the first enduring European settlement — St. Augustine in 1565,” she said.
In addition to the artifacts from the church, the exhibit will include documents, utensils, pottery and tools from the period, Waters said.
“We hope people walk away with a new appreciation of learning and history,” she said. “Our country is much older than what people think.”
