ARTIFACTS TELL THE STORY OF THE LUNA SETTLEMENT IN PENSACOLA (1559-1561)
Janet Lloyd TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12 6:30 PM EST
ZOOM LINK | Meeting ID: 858 387 1128 Passcode: iBFa2B
IN PERSON: North Port Public Library, 13800 Tamiami Trail in the Veranda Room (in the back, children's section).
FROM JAN: "In 2015, a local Pensacola history buff with archaeological training noticed interesting artifacts in the disturbed soil where an older house was being torn down to make room for a new one. He brought these artifacts to the lab and, with one look, I called Dr. John Worth to come and check them out. These artifacts included sherds of 16th century Spanish ceramics. Since that time, the University of West Florida (UWF), under the direction of Dr. John Worth, has systematically shovel-tested the entire area and excavated units and blocks in particular lots during summer field schools. These excavations have proven this site to be the 16th century settlement site of Tristan de Luna. This was the first multiyear site in the US, covering part of a neighborhood overlooking Pensacola Bay."
"Excavations at this 1559 site have been scattered across the neighborhood where residents have given permission to Dr. Worth and hundreds of students to dig over the last 10 years. We are also very privileged to have the shipwrecks associated with the Luna settlement in the bay where they sank during a hurricane that destroyed the settlement only 5 months after the colonists arrived. Although tragic, this single component site gives archaeologists a chance to study the big picture."
The artifacts recovered from the 1559 de Luna Settlement, both in the terrestrial area and the shipwrecks, will be the topic of this presentation.
After teaching high school Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, and Advanced Biology in the International Baccalaureate Program for 30 years, Jan took a second degree in Anthropology in 1985 from the University of West Florida (UWF). While still teaching, as time allowed, she worked for Dr. Judy Bense at UWF from 1980-1991 on many prehistoric and colonial/ territorial local sites. After retiring from teaching in 1998, Jan worked more consistently with Dr. Bense at UWF from 1999-2023. During these years Jan worked on some well-known sites along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Northwest Florida. These projects included everything from full-scale excavations to monitoring utilities replacement through the Historic District in downtown Pensacola. In 2002, Jan accepted the position of Lab Director for the Archaeology Institute at UWF and remained in that position until retiring in 2023. During this time, UWF excavated a number of noteworthy sites including Santa Rosa Pensacola (1722-1754), British (1763-1781) and Spanish (1754-1763) colonial sites in downtown Pensacola and the Tristan de Luna Settlement site (1559-1561) to name a few. During her tenure at UWF, Jan taught Archaeological Lab Methods classes and ran the field school lab during major excavations. The lab instructional manual developed by Jan is still in use at UWF, as well as becoming the basis for the many CRM and other professionals produced by UWF. After retiring from UWF in 2023, Jan enjoyed a leisurely five months before Wiregrass Archaeological Consulting and the University of South Alabama approached her about stepping in as the new lab director to finish up the new I-10 Mobile River Bridge project (began in 2021). Jan agreed and is still working on that project, processing artifacts from 15 city blocks which were excavated along Mobile Bay (Mobile, Alabama). Training incoming employees at both University of South Alabama and Wiregrass has been a very important part of the job and teaching is still one of Jan’s favorite things to do. Jan’s other passions are a lifetime of travel, birdwatching, and horses.