In 2011 archaeologists from the Florida Museum of Natural History uncovered an extraordinary find- the possible ruins of the oldest stone church in the state.

Originally built in 1677, the church at the Spanish mission of Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine was one of the largest erected during colonial Spanish Florida.

Constructed by order of the Spanish Governor, at the time the church was an opulent and splendidly decorated building. Spanish records reveal the building was a source of pride, but that was not enough to save it from the British who destroyed it in the early 1700s.

It was rediscovered by archaeologists Kathleen Deagan and Gifford Waters after they found clues to its whereabouts in historical documents from the 1950s.

They found the actual coquina stone and oyster shell foundations of the church that are 80 by 30 feet in size. Many artifacts dating to the colonial use of the church were also found.

Written, narrated, and produced by the University of West Florida, the Florida Public Archaeology Network and WUWF Public Media.