Archaeologists uncover remnants of Florida's short-lived British past in St. Augustine: 'Always fascinating'

Archaeologists successful the oldest metropolis successful the United States precocious excavated portion of an historical territory — unearthing remnants of its short-lived British past.

Fox News Digital spoke with Andrea White, a metropolis archaeologist successful St. Augustine, Florida, astir the excavation. The task took spot successful the city's Lincolnville vicinity and wrapped up successful February. (See the video astatine the apical of this article.) 

Archaeologists were digging astatine the tract arsenic they made mode for operation and discovered the dried-up moat of a British redoubt, oregon tiny outpost.

TRAVELERS HEAD TO ‘MOST WELCOMING CITIES' IN AMERICA: SEE IF YOURS MADE THE LIST

"We knew determination were a bid of British redoubts," White said. 

"In St. Augustine, everyone thinks astir the Spanish period, but we really had a 20-year play wherever the British were successful power of some East and West Florida."

The British inhabitants of St. Augustine built the redoubt successful 1781, owed to fears of attacks by the Spanish. (City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program via AP)

St. Augustine was chiefly a Spanish subject municipality successful the archetypal 200 years of its history, opening successful 1565. 

Florida came nether British power erstwhile Spain traded it for Havana, Cuba, which had been captured by the British.

In 1763, done the Treaty of Paris, the British gained power of Florida and the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) ended. But the British inhabitants of St. Augustine inactive disquieted astir attacks by the Spanish — hence the fortifications, according to galore humanities accounts.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER LONG-LOST TOMB OF UNKNOWN PHARAOH IN EGYPT

At the extremity of the American Revolution, the Spanish crown was fixed backmost power of Florida successful speech for immoderate of their assistance to the British. The Sunshine State didn't go U.S. territory until 1821.

"The Spanish really attacked some [the larboard of] Mobile and Pensacola," White said. "So determination was a large fearfulness that determination could beryllium an onslaught connected St. Augustine."

The redoubt contained a adust moat with integrated material, including seeds, that volition acquisition further testing. (City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program via AP)

"A bid of these tiny redoubts were constructed benignant of surrounding the historical municipality with plans to really link them by a bid of walls and antiaircraft moats," White added. 

"But that benignant of ne'er came to fruition due to the fact that the American Revolution ended, and truthful did the menace to the British astatine the time."

ANCIENT SETTLEMENT REVEALS REMAINS OF 1,800-YEAR-OLD DOG, BAFFLING EXPERTS: ‘PRESERVED QUITE WELL’

One of the astir astonishing parts of the excavation, archetypal reported by The Associated Press, was not what the archaeologists found, but what they didn't find.

"We cognize there's astatine slightest six further [redoubts] retired there."

White told Fox News Digital the artifacts they uncovered were fewer and acold between.

"In [an] municipality context, we're utilized to uncovering tons of artifacts due to the fact that radical person lived present for implicit 4,000 years, but successful this case, it was truly the deficiency of artifacts that amazed us," the historiographer said.

ANCIENT TOMB TIED TO ROMAN GLADIATOR DISCOVERED BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

"So we might've recovered a fewer pieces of pottery, a mates of pieces of [shotgun pellets], small pieces of pb that would've been utilized to occurrence retired of a gun," she said.

But portion galore radical whitethorn deliberation archaeology is conscionable astir digging up artifacts, White encouraged a broader position astir the field.

The excavation took spot successful the city's Lincolnville neighborhood. St. Augustine was established by the Spanish successful 1565. (City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program via AP)

"Everyone associates archaeology with uncovering things, and it's truly the accusation that we're aft arsenic archaeologists," White said. 

She added, "[It's] not what you find, but what you'd find out."

One of the astir absorbing takeaways was the magnitude of seeds successful the moat, which had survived acknowledgment to the biology conditions.

"They were truly well-preserved due to the fact that it's benignant of successful the h2o array astatine this constituent successful time. The h2o array has risen implicit the past fewer centuries," she noted. 

For much Lifestyle articles, sojourn foxnews.com/lifestyle

"So we've conscionable started moving with an ethnobotanist … and she's been starting to assistance america survey these works remains, these seeds. We're hoping to larn a batch more."

White besides said the redoubts were immoderate of the lone British-constructed fortifications successful the city. When they took power of the territory, the British inhabitants usually reused Spanish infrastructure alternatively of gathering their own.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

"Everything other was either already present and the Spanish built it, and the British might've modified it a small — but this was thing that was uniquely British," she said. "We cognize there's astatine slightest six further [redoubts] retired there."

White added that she hopes the radical finds "evidence … present that we benignant of cognize what to look for, particularly since there's not a batch of artifacts associated with them."

St. Augustine's metropolis archeology programme conducts implicit 60 projects a year, with archaeologists perpetually learning much astir the city's past. 

St. Augustine archaeologists anticipation to behaviour much excavations successful the future, arsenic the city's archeology programme conducts dozens of projects per year. (City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program via AP)

At a clip erstwhile galore fascinating excavations are taking spot crossed the world, from Europe to the Middle East, White emphasized the magnitude the U.S. has to connection successful presumption of archaeology. 

"I deliberation sometimes we're surprised: 'Wait, there's archaeology successful America, successful our ain backyard?'" she said. "Yes, determination is archaeology everywhere."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"It whitethorn not beryllium arsenic aged arsenic immoderate radical privation to think, but there's worldly everywhere. [Archaeology is] ever fascinating … and it's a large mode to larn astir ourselves today, too."

Fox News Digital's Brooke Curto, arsenic good arsenic The Associated Press, contributed reporting.