Ruins of 300-year-old Spanish church found in Florida

A team of archaeologists from the University of Florida have discovered in St. Augustine the ruins of a church more than 300 years old that belonged to a mission of the Spanish colonial period.

The archaeologists believe it could be the oldest stone building of Spain's colonial period and one of the largest mission churches built during that time in Florida.

Researchers from the Florida Museum of Natural History, located on the UF campus in Gainesville, discovered coquina stones and foundations indicating a structure some 27 meters (90 feet) long by 12 meters (40 feet) high, which would be "the only mission church made of stone," the university said in a communique....