Archaeology Update — Excavations Uncover Evidence of Early Mission Occupation

During the week of January 13, 2020, work continued with the installation of the safety bollards around the perimeter of Alamo Plaza. The steel bollards are being installed in the excavated areas and secured in place with the pouring of concrete. In areas that the concrete has been poured, the next phase of work would focus on installing the flagstone surface.

Archaeology associated with the preservation work for the Church and Long Barrack focused on units on the south and north sides of the Church. Excavation Unit 01, located on the south side of the Church, has worked on exposing a kick-out of the foundation below the metal monel plate that was installed in 1995. As the archaeologists have progressed with their excavations, they have encountered a compacted caliche surface similar to what was observed in the exterior unit located to the west.

The artifacts that have been encountered in the vicinity of the compacted surface have mostly been associated with the early colonial occupation of the site. These artifacts consist of chert flakes, Native American-made pottery known as Goliad Ware, and Spanish Colonial ceramics, including Puebla Polychrome. Puebla Polychrome is one of the oldest types of majolica that has been encountered at the site. These artifacts, in combination with the compacted surface, appear to indicate that we have evidence of the earliest use of the location for the Spanish Colonial mission.

Excavations in Unit 8, located on the exterior of the north wall of Church continued. The utility vault observed during the previous week was further uncovered and opened. It appears the original utilities that had occupied the vault were no longer in use, but a more recent electrical line reused the vault. Excavations in the unit continued in the areas of the unit not occupied by the vault.

By the end of the week, archaeologists were approximately 15.7 inches below the datum. The north wall is continued will continue to be exposed in order to gather information concerning its construction. Artifacts recovered during the week included a mixture of modern materials such as nails and glass fragments as well as some historic ceramics, metal fragments, and glass. A few artifacts that could date to the Spanish Colonial period were also encountered, although it appears that the installation of the utility vault has disturbed the soils in the area causing the mixture.

Excavations in Unit 8, located on the exterior of the north wall of Church continued. The utility vault observed during the previous week was further uncovered and opened. It appears the original utilities that had occupied the vault were no longer in use, but a more recent electrical line reused the vault. Excavations in the unit continued in the areas of the unit not occupied by the vault.

By the end of the week, archaeologists were approximately 15.7 inches below the datum. The north wall is continued will continue to be exposed in order to gather information concerning its construction. Artifacts recovered during the week included a mixture of modern materials such as nails and glass fragments as well as some historic ceramics, metal fragments, and glass. A few artifacts that could date to the Spanish Colonial period were also encountered, although it appears that the installation of the utility vault has disturbed the soils in the area causing the mixture.

Heavy rain during the second half of the week caused excavations to stop, as the rain came down so fast it had nowhere to go but into some of the units. Archaeologists were able to reduce the amount of water that flooded a few of the exterior units, but these needed to dry out for the remainder of the week before excavations could resume. Better weather conditions over the weekend could allow the units time to dry, allowing the archaeologists to resume excavations the following week.