Cathedral Parish School staged a Florida Archaeology Month celebration last month with a presentation by researcher Kathleen Deagan who presented “Archaeology in St. Augustine with a special emphasis on the Nombre de Dios Mission and Our Lady of Le Leche Shrine.”
The speaker was also be recognized by CPS principal Todd DeClemente, for her contribution to education in St. Augustine. Members of the School’s Archaeology Club gave Deagan tour of the school’s own “archaeological museum,” featuring historical artifacts found on site during campus excavations over the years.
The CPS Archeology Club was founded by students in 2010. In 2008 Cathedral Parish School was planning to build additional classrooms. As city code requires a professional exploratory dig and catalog of finds before building downtown, city archaeologist Carl Halbirt and his volunteers dug up hundreds of early Spanish shards and other artifacts, including gold. This excavation attracted the attention of not only the press, but CPS students as well. Current fifth grader Raphael Cosme Jr. had a good idea of what was beneath the school. Other students joined him in the recovery of historical shards from beneath the playground surface collecting more than 400 pieces in two years time, resulting in a small museum being established in the school’s library. The artifacts were classified by Raphael Jr.’s father Raphael Cosme using Deagan’s books and the digital collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Students of CPS believe they have the first archaeological school museum in St. Johns County. CPS parents Raphael and Perla Cosme have been working with DeClemente, CPS librarian Kate Poage, and the rest of the faculty to introduce students to the role of archeology in the community.
Special thanks to the Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, St Augustine Historical Tours and Signs Now, for their support to this event.