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Lighthouse and Museum to Conserve Artifacts from the Menendez Era

Lighthouse and Museum to Conserve Artifacts from the Menendez Era

Tue, Sep 19 2006

Shards of burnt wood, old barrel hoop sections, and iron fasteners do not mean much to the layperson; however, in the hands of those charged with learning and protecting our history, they tell the tales of our forbearers.

These pieces of burnt wood and old metal have been extracted from a barrel well at the Fountain of Youth where Pedro Menendez settled and proclaimed his brother the governor of the district of St. Augustine in 1565. The burnt wood could date to a period when the original European settlement in America was forced by fire to move across the Intracoastal Waterway to Anastasia Island in 1566.

Charged with extracting the stories form these items, Dr. Kathy Deagan, respected archaeologist and University of Florida Professor, has placed them in the hands of the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum Conservation Department. "I and the Florida Museum of Natural History are delighted to be collaborating with LAMP (Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program) in preserving these unique remnants of St. Augustine's origin," said Dr Deagan, who has been exploring and unearthing artifacts in St. Augustine for more than three decades.

"This material is directly associated with the historical events that led to the founding of the city and port of St. Augustine and the first successful Spanish settlement of North America," said Dr. Samuel Turner, LAMP's Director or Archaeology.

Lighthouse and Museum Conservator Kathleen McCormick will preserve the artifacts using a long and detailed process that will eventually allow sugar crystals to stabilize an object that has been submerged in water for approximately 450 years.

The artifacts will be submerged in a sugar solution that will gradually increase in saturation.

Once the wood has absorbed all the sugar solution it can hold, the water is allowed to evaporate. As the water evaporates, a network of sugar crystals is left behind to support the wood, maintaining the original integrity of the artifact.

"We are very excited about this project," said McCormick, "it gives us a chance to help preserve a very important part of the early history of St. Augustine."

This project is supported by a grant from the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, assisted by the Florida Historical Commission.

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