ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A boat and other artifacts believed to be from the 19th century were discovered recently as crews worked on a road project in downtown St. Augustine this week.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the timber section of the boat was found as crews worked on the King Street at State Road A1A drainage improvement project that began earlier this year.
The well-preserved wooden vessel, which appears to be about 20 feet long, was uncovered by the Bridge of Lions and began to further reveal itself as crews cleared away dirt on Wednesday morning.
Chuck and Shae, who were visiting St. Augustine, said it was a “very cool” discovery.
“It’s interesting that something so old has been there for a long time and they didn’t know about it,” Steve Bouwman said.
Prior to the start of construction, FDOT subcontracted with Southeastern Archaeological Research (SEARCH) as a part of the project due to the historic nature of the area. SEARCH is a global leader in archaeology and will provide the full spectrum of cultural heritage services to assist with this specific excavation.
Dr. Ian Pawn, an archaeologist with FDOT, said crews discovered the boat while trying to put pipes in for the city’s latest drainage project.
“They started to see signs of wood and as they uncovered more, they started to see the shape of this boat, Pawn explained. “Sure enough, we had a boat.”
There’s no way to know for sure who the vessel belonged to, but the theory is that it may have belonged to a family based on what archaeologists found on board.
“We assume that it was used by some sort of individual or maybe a small family, that’s a little hard to tell. We do have some artifacts found with it. We’ve got some leather shoes,” Pawn said.
The leather shoes were covered in dirt when they were found. According to Pawn, they included a right and left foot which is something that did not become common until the mid-1800s.
“The other thing is that I believe there are some coins that are from the 1800s that are from the 1860s, the 1880s,” Pawn said.
Greg Evans, the district 2 secretary, is excited about the new discovery and can’t wait to find it a new home.
“We want to find an owner. We want to find and invest with somebody, partner with somebody and have it on display somewhere, hopefully,” Evans said. “With every project we undertake, the Florida Department of Transportation is sensitive to the unique needs of the communities we serve, including the potential presence of historical sites and artifacts within construction sites. We are grateful to our partners at SEARCH Archeology for their careful efforts to preserve this vessel, and we look forward to learning more about its significance to the region.”
