EXCAVATION OF A WOODEN-PLANKED BOX WELL AT MISSION SANTA CATALINA DE GUALE ON AMELIA ISLAND, FLORIDA.

This article focuses on the 1989 archaeological excavation of a wooden-planked box well (Feature 743) at Mission Santa Catalina de Guale on Amelia Island, Florida, the third location of the Guale Indigenous-Spanish mission community from 1683 to 1702. The well, constructed as a rectangular wooden box approximately 76 by 106 cm within a large hand-dug pit over 4 m in diameter, was situated immediately north of the mission compound and west of a burned structure (Structure B) likely used for cooking and associated with the Spanish garrison. Artifacts recovered from the well and pit include a predominance of San Marcos stamped Indigenous pottery, Spanish Olive Jar fragments, colonial-era beads, nails, and a complete colonoware pitcher, reflecting the mission’s late 17th-century occupation. The well and adjacent features are interpreted as part of the small Spanish military presence protecting the mission community before its destruction in 1702 during a British and allied Indigenous attack.