January 21 – GTM Research Reserve at Marineland

Archaeologist Chuck Meide

Archaeologist Chuck Meide, with the Lighthouse Maritime Archaeological Program at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, will be the featured speaker from 10 to 11 AM Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at  the GTM Research Reserve field office in the town of Marineland at 9741 Oceanshore Blvd, just south of Marineland Dolphin Adventure, on the west side of the road. The speaker series is titled “Community: Past and Present,”  with Meide’s talk called Shipwreck Archaeology in our Nation’s Oldest Port. This free event is open to the community.  Call 904-823-4500 for more details.

January 31 – Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

Archaeologist Chuck Meide, with the Lighthouse Maritime Archaeological Program (LAMP) at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, will speak at the 8th Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve Science and History Symposium on Friday, January 31, 2020 at the Ribault Club on Fort George Island in Jacksonville, Florida, an event hosted by the National Park Service. The title of his talk is The Discovery and Archaeological Potential of Jean Ribault’s 1565 Flagship Trinité. Click here for more details.

Cultural and natural resources have a shared history of over 6,000 years within the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. The interaction between nature and humans is evident…from the spoil islands to the altered wetlands, from the shell middens of the Theodore Roosevelt Area to the tabby structures of Kingsley Plantation and from the boat docks of neighboring subdivisions to the introduction of exotic animals and plants. The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is a place where natural and cultural resources connect.

The Discovery and Archaeological Potential of Jean Ribault’s 1565 Flagship Trinité

With the 450th anniversary of French colonization at Fort Caroline in 2014, both state and LAMP archaeologists attempted searches to find the remains of Jean Ribault’s four shipwrecks. While these attempts were inconclusive, in 2016 a treasure hunting company found a sixteenth-century shipwreck off Cape Canaveral that was clearly related to the lost French fleet of 1565. The salvors made an Admiralty claim to secure salvage rights, but the Republic of France counterclaimed the wreckage was that of Ribault’s flagship la Trinité, and therefore French property. On 29 June 2018 a federal judge recognized France’s ownership, noting that the preponderance of evidence indicated the shipwreck was indeed la Trinité. In December 2018 it was announced that France and the State of Florida would jointly investigate and manage this shipwreck. This talk summarizes the historical background, surveys, court case, and the latest information regarding this important shipwreck site.

Chuck Meide grew up in Atlantic Beach, Florida and attended Florida State University for his BA and MA degrees, and the College of William & Mary for his PhD studies. He has conducted extensive archaeological research on historic shipwrecks in Florida and around the world. Since 2006 he has served as the Director of the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP), the research arm of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum.