Fig Springs mission site facts for kids

The Fig Springs mission site (8CO1) is an archaeological site located in Ichetucknee Springs State Park. You can find it in Columbia County, Florida, in the USA. This site is thought to be the location of a Spanish mission built for the Timucua people. This mission was active in the first half of the 17th century.

It was located in the area where the Timucua tribe, specifically the Northern Utina, lived. Experts believe it is Mission San Martín de Timucua, also known as San Martín de Ayacuto. This mission was started in 1608 in an important Northern Utina village called Ayacuto.

Discovering the Fig Springs Mission Site

The Fig Springs site is right next to a small stream. This stream connects Fig Springs to the Ichetucknee River. It's about one mile downstream from where the Ichetucknee River begins.

Early Finds and Digs

In 1949, a large pile of ancient trash, called a midden, was found in the stream. Later, in 1986, a survey was done. This included some small digs. These digs found signs of a mission on the land nearby. They found parts of a church building and a place where missionaries lived, called a convento. There was also a cemetery, a central open space (a plaza), and a native village.

More Detailed Excavations

More extensive digs happened in 1988 and 1989. These helped archaeologists learn even more about the site.

What the Finds Tell Us

By studying pieces of pottery, called sherds, found at the site, archaeologists could tell when the mission was used. The pottery showed that the mission was active during the first half of the 17th century. This evidence helped archaeologists figure out that the site was most likely San Martín de Timucua. We know this mission was founded in 1608. Spanish records also show that San Martín de Timucua stopped appearing after a Timucua rebellion in 1656.

Some people had thought the site might be Santa Catalina de Afuerica, a mission known to be in the area between 1675 and 1685. However, the pottery evidence makes this less likely. The mission seems to have been built in one of the five main towns of the Northern Utina people in the early 1600s. This area covered northern Florida, from the St. Johns River in the east to the Aucilla River in the west.

The Mission Church and Cemetery

The mission church at Fig Springs was an open-air building. It had a plank wall on its east side. The other sides were left open. Wooden posts, about 10 centimeters (4 inches) square, held up a roof. This roof covered an area about 10.5 meters (34 feet) north-south and 8 meters (26 feet) east-west.

Inside the Church

The floor of the church was cleared down to the bare earth. A layer of clean sand was put down first. On top of that was a packed clay floor. This floor rose in steps from west to east. It seems the building later burned down. Its remains were then covered by a layer of clean sand.

The Cemetery

A cemetery was found on the north side of the church. It contained several rows of burials. Interestingly, unlike some other Spanish missions in Florida, no burials were found inside the church floor itself.