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

Archaeologists in the oldest city in the United States in recent months excavated part of an historic district unearthing remnants of its short-lived British past Fox News Digital spoke with Andrea White a city archaeologist in St Augustine Florida about the excavation The project took place in the city's Lincolnville neighborhood and wrapped up in February See the video at the top of this article Archaeologists were digging at the site as they made way for construction and discovered the dried-up moat of a British redoubt or small outpost TRAVELERS HEAD TO GREATER PART WELCOMING CITIES' IN AMERICA SEE IF YOURS MADE THE LIST We knew there were a series of British redoubts White announced In St Augustine everyone thinks about the Spanish period but we authentically had a -year period where the British were in control of both East and West Florida St Augustine was primarily a Spanish military town in the first years of its history beginning in Florida came under British control when Spain traded it for Havana Cuba which had been captured by the British In through the Treaty of Paris the British gained control of Florida and the Seven Years' War - ended But the British inhabitants of St Augustine still worried about attacks by the Spanish hence the fortifications according to numerous historical accounts ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER LONG-LOST TOMB OF UNKNOWN PHARAOH IN EGYPTAt the end of the American Revolution the Spanish crown was given back control of Florida in exchange for particular of their assistance to the British The Sunshine State didn't become U S territory until The Spanish certainly attacked both the port of Mobile and Pensacola White declared So there was a great fear that there could be an attack on St Augustine A series of these small redoubts were constructed sort of surrounding the historic town with plans to genuinely connect them by a series of walls and defensive moats White added But that kind of never came to fruition because the American Revolution ended and so did the threat to the British at the time ANCIENT SETTLEMENT REVEALS REMAINS OF -YEAR-OLD DOG BAFFLING EXPERTS PRESERVED QUITE WELL One of the largest part surprising parts of the excavation first published by The Associated Press was not what the archaeologists uncovered but what they didn't find White recounted Fox News Digital the artifacts they uncovered were limited and far between In an urban context we're used to finding tons of artifacts because people have lived here for over years but in this scenario it was really the lack of artifacts that surprised us the historian revealed ANCIENT TOMB TIED TO ROMAN GLADIATOR DISCOVERED BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS So we might've determined a sparse pieces of pottery a couple of pieces of shotgun pellets little pieces of lead that would've been used to fire out of a gun she reported But while a great number of people may think archaeology is just about digging up artifacts White encouraged a broader perspective about the field Everyone associates archaeology with finding things and it's really the information that we're after as archaeologists White reported She added It's not what you find but what you'd find out One of the greater part gripping takeaways was the amount of seeds in the moat which had survived thanks to the environmental conditions They were really well-preserved because it's kind of in the water table at this point in time The water table has risen over the last sparse centuries she noted For more Lifestyle articles visit foxnews com lifestyle So we've just started working with an ethnobotanist and she's been starting to help us research these plant remains these seeds We're hoping to learn a lot more White also commented the redoubts were specific of the only British-constructed fortifications in the city When they took control of the territory the British inhabitants usually reused Spanish infrastructure instead of building their own CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER Everything else was either already here and the Spanish built it and the British might've modified it a little but this was something that was uniquely British she declared We know there's at least six additional redoubts out there White added that she hopes the group finds evidence now that we sort of know what to look for especially since there's not a lot of artifacts associated with them St Augustine's city archeology initiative conducts over projects a year with archaeologists constantly learning more about the city's past At a time when multiple fascinating excavations are taking place across the world from Europe to the Middle East White emphasized the amount the U S has to offer in terms of archaeology I think sometimes we're surprised 'Wait there's archaeology in America in our own backyard ' she noted Yes there is archaeology everywhere It may not be as old as certain people want to think but there's stuff everywhere Archaeology is inevitably fascinating and it's a great way to learn about ourselves nowadays too Fox News Digital's Brooke Curto as well as The Associated Press contributed reporting