ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – St. Johns County Beach Services and St. Augustine Lighthouse teamed up to preserve two fragments of a 19th-century shipwreck found on Matanzas Beach.
On Aug. 26, beach staff spotted the large timbers, with one being transported back to its office, before researchers identified both as part of a shipwreck dating back to at least the 1800s.
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Pictures and measurements were taken for later examination before Beach Services helped bury the remaining timber under wet sand.
St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) Director Chuck Meide praised the county’s efforts to preserve the fragments.
“We are really appreciative of St. Johns County, and especially Beach Services,” Meide said. “As soon as they realized they had a historic shipwreck timber, they reached out to us at LAMP and assisted us every step of the way. We got permission from the State of Florida to bury it, and [Beaches staff] showed up here with their Bobcat and helped us get this thing buried nice and deep so it will stay safe from looters and safe from the sun.”