Florida archaeologists have confirmed a stunning find hidden in plain sight: the site of Hernando de Soto’s winter encampment of 1539–1540 — and the location of the first Christmas ever celebrated on land that would become the United States. The hilltop sits just steps from Florida’s state archaeology headquarters in Tallahassee.
"It was really astonishing that it’s here in Tallahassee," said Florida archaeologist Nicholas Yarbrough, who has helped analyze thousands of artifacts from the site. "It was kind of in plain sight but just underground."
The discovery traces back to 1987, when archaeologist Calvin Jones noticed construction equipment had churned up pieces of unusually old pottery. He stopped to investigate and spotted fragments of Spanish olive jars from the early 1500s. Soon, excavators uncovered armor pieces, crossbow bolts, and coins dating to the era of the De Soto expedition.
"Such a significant site was under our feet the whole time," Yarbrough said. "What they found were thousands of artifacts related to a Spanish occupation, which was eventually identified as the De Soto winter encampment."
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