Researchers in Pensacola, Fla., found found numerous ceramic fragments at the site of the Spanish colony known as the Luna settlement. Photo by University of West Florida
PENSACOLA, Fla., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of West Florida have confirmed the location of the Luna expedition, the oldest established European multi-year settlement in the United States. The 16th century Spanish colony was centered in Pensacola, Fla.
Shipwrecks and documents hinted at the presence of a settlement, established by Spanish explorer Tristan de Luna y Arellano six years prior to St. Augustine settlement and some 48 years before the English landed at Jamestown.
But new artifacts are the first definitive archaeological evidence to reveal the settlement's presence on dry land.
"This is one of those almost once-in-a-lifetime type things," John Worth, associate professor of historical archaeology at West Florida, said in a press release.
"I figured if the Luna colony would be found it would probably be found accidentally," Worth continued. "I did not expect it would occur during my tenure here necessarily. I just figured eventually we might find it, somebody would. I guess this is the culmination. I didn't even hope to find it as much as just wish."
Tristan de Luna y Arellano brought some 1,500 soldiers, colonists, slaves and Aztec people from Mexico to the Florida Panhandle in 1559, but the colony never grew very large or achieved its goals. Just weeks after arriving, a hurricane sank many of the expedition's ships in Pensacola Bay and wiped out their supplies. Most of the men abandoned Luna for inland destinations.
Two years later, Spanish ships rescued remaining colonists and returned them to Mexico. But many of the men had already dispatched for a separate expedition in Cuba. De Luna himself returned to Mexico. The Luna settlement was occupied from 1559 to 1561, abandoned entirely just two years after its establishment.
In a Pensacola neighborhood, archaeologists unearthed fragments of olive jars, ceramic cookware, tableware and Native American pottery. Starving and short on food supplies, the colonists were forced to trade items with local Native Americans for food.
Researchers also found personal items like a lead fishing line weight and a copper aglet, as well as fragments of iron nails and spikes.
The artifacts found on land are a chemical match with materials recovered from the nearby shipwrecks.
"The shipwrecks have provided a tremendous insight into the nature of the machinery that brought Spain to the New World and how they operated this entire vast empire," said Worth. "In terms of understanding who they were after coming to the New World, this kind of archaeology at the terrestrial site will provide us that window."
The failure of the Luna colony ultimately paved the way for the more famous St. Augustine settlement. Had a hurricane not arrived on the Panhandle in 1559, researchers say St. Augustine may never have been established.
