Laser and radar technology has revealed the 454-year-old remains of a Spanish fort on an island off the Gulf Coast of Florida, a new study finds.
The fort, known as Fort San Antón de Carlos, was home to one of the first Jesuit missions in North America. The Spanish built it in 1566 in the capital of a powerful Native American kingdom controlled by the Calusa people. Today, the site is known as Mound Key, an island in Estero Bay.
Historical Spanish documents suggested that the Calusa capital and Fort San Antón de Carlos (named for the Catholic patron saint of lost things) were on Mound Key. But it wasn't until archaeologists used laser technology known as lidar (light detection and ranging) and ground-penetrating radar that they located the fort's remains.
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