Update this timeline entry

Santa Catalina mission is rebuilt on St. Catherines's Island

Source: Situado and Sabana #82

Project ID

Chapter

Timeline title

Start date

End date

Filename received

Filename assigned

Content

...When Fray Ruiz supervised the reconstruction in 1604, the southeastern wall of 17th-century convento was directly on top of its16th-century counterpart. Because the later structure was somewhat smaller, and because the long axis of the 17th-century convento differed by 15° from the earlier structure, the two buildings only partly overlapped. The western convento wall was enclosed by an arcade, probably a colonnaded porch marking the eastern margin of the central plaza. At least three doorways faced the church to the west.

...Inside the later convento, we found a curious feature in the central room: a rectangular clay foundation set into the floor, scooped out to receive an oval, metallic receptacle. Could this floor font have held holy water? Or was it employed for personal hygiene. Could it have been used to bathe the aching feet of barefoot Franciscan friars? Is there a modern analog in the friaries of today?

...Although the later friary was about 15 percent smaller than its predecessor, this size differential was more than counterbalanced by the new cocina (kitchen) built 20 m to the northwest. The 17th-century kitchen, measuring 4.5 m by 6 m, was constructed of wattle and daub on three sides. These walls were supported by squared-off pine posts, placed in pits. The southern end of the kitchen was apparently left open, presumably to facilitate both access and ventilation. Inside the kitchen were rich deposits of discarded food bones; Elizabeth J. Reitz and her students have been identifying and analyzing these nonhuman bones from the cocina to learn more about dietary patterns at Mission Santa Catalina. What did the friars eat? Where did they get their food? How much was locally produced, how much imported (from where, and in what)? Did they dine on traditional Spanish foods, or did they "go native?" Did the kind or quantity change through time? How much did food cost? What sold cheap in St. Augustine? What was expensive and/or rare? How were supplies and foodstuffs stored (in theground, on theground, in boxes or bags)?

Two mission wells were found on the eastern side of the plaza. The first, initially located by the magnetometer survey, was a simple barrel well, consisting of seven decomposing iron rings above the well-preserved remains of an oak casing. This well had a relatively short use-life, and we think it likely that it dates from the 16th century. A second, much larger well was encountered later, directly between the cocina and the convento. When first recognized, the large circular construction narrowed downward, with distinct "steps" on both sides. The well was originally much smaller, having been first constructed with standard barrels. It was subsequently renovated using a casement constructed of two U-shaped cypress logs which were lowered into the construction pit, then nailed together. This later handmade well casing was considerably larger than any other mission-period wells encountered in Spanish Florida. This well clearly crosscuts surrounding features in the conventolcocina complex; it was one of the last features built at the mission and was probably in use until the final mission abandonment in the 1680s. Were these everyday wells, supplying the mission with its drinking water? Or were these wells the source of the Holy water necessary to conduct appropriate Franciscan ritual?

... At the time of Dr. Bushnell's visit, most of what we knew about Santa Catalina came from a decade of digging around the plaza in the central part of Santa Catalina-the church, convento, and cocina complex-an area of about 5000 m2• But in more recent years, we have shifted the archaeological focus from the Hispanic core to the Native American outskirts. Today, we are exploring the site structure of the surrounding Guale pueblo, which covers at least 10 ha.

(Bushnell-SS)