(SMITHSONIAN MAG) – Archaeologists in Maryland have discovered the remains of St. Mary’s Fort, a structure built in 1634 by the first English colonists to reach the western side of the Chesapeake Bay. As the Maryland State Archives note, the defensive garrison served as an outpost for St. Mary’s, the first permanent European settlement in Maryland and the fourth in British North America.
Travis Parno, director of research and collections at preservation organization and living history museum Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC), announced the find on Monday, bringing the search for the palisaded fort to a close after 90 years, reports Michael E. Ruane for the Washington Post. Though researchers confirmed the discovery in late 2019, they only revealed the news now due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The newly identified site, located about half a mile away from St. Mary’s River, is roughly the size of a football field. Though researchers have conducted approximately 200 excavations in the area over the past 30 years, none of these digs yielded conclusive evidence of the fort’s presence, writes Nathan Falde for Ancient Origins.
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