Wanted . . . university archaeological teams to unveil the concealed Sephardic, Spanish, Portuguese and Asturian history of the Georgia Gold Belt

DNA testing has proven that their descendants still live in the region. However, in response to the rise of xenophobic politics, most families changed their Iberian family names to Anglo-Saxon ones in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Several 19th century publications provide the exact locations of “Spanish” mining villages, whose ruins were encountered by 19th century gold miners.

In 1646, Governor Benito Ruíz de Salazar Vallecilla built a pack mule road from St. Augustine to “the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River,” then constructed a fortified trading post and mission. This complex is often confused by Georgia academicians with a smaller facility near Columbus, GA. However, the Nacoochee Valley complex was visited frequently and described by English explorer Richard Brigstock, when he stayed in the Valley in 1653. By then, it had a village of Spaniards located adjacent to the trading post. In contrast, the Middle Chattahoochee River facility was soon burned. Brigstock also visited a Spanish gem-mining village near Franklin, NC.

Locating and excavating the Spanish trading post, fort and mission would be an archaeological coup, but will require more research to locate. There may be more information on the Nacoochee Valley complex in Seville, Spain, where the Spanish colonial archives are maintained.

The red and grey boundary on the map is actually the Blue Ridge Mountains . Until 1828, the Unicoi Trail went through Batesville, GA and did not pass through the Nacoochee Valley.

The Apalache Research Foundation will be delighted to work with universities from other states or nations to help facilitate your plans to carry out an archaeological investigation in the vicinity of the Nacoochee Valley. I am not an archaeologist, but have extensive experience with Colonial Era Architecture, both in the restoration of surviving structures and the re-creation of structures from archaeological investigations. I prepared the architectural drawings of the Mission Santa Catalina de Guale for the American Museum of Natural History – now part of the Smithsonian Institute.

We do not have a big pot of money to offer you, but do have knowledge of several trusts and foundations, who would. The State of Georgia would probably be especially supportive of projects, which drew tourists or could be made into a television documentary. Movie and TV program production is a major industry in Georgia now.