My first stop on my first visit to the USA was San Antonio.So much to see and do there! Knowing a little about the history of the town was an enormous asset. I doubt there are many people who haven't heard of Davey Crockett, Jim Bowie and Col.William Travis.
Archaeologists are revealing the location of the
site where they believe San Antonio's first mission once stood, saying the Alamo
had two predecessors.
She says the first site is likely somewhere near
the Christopher Columbus Italian Society near I-10 and I-35. It was founded in
1718.
"They were only here about a year, so it was a
very short-lived site," she said.
It's unclear why the mission was moved, possibly
to the La Villita area. A hurricane hit in 1724, and then came the
Alamo.
"Most people don't realize there are three
locations," Hindes said. "Mission San Jose also had three
locations."
Hindes recovered artifacts, including pottery,
beads and nails, not far from the Italian Society. Some of the items were
buried, but she saw others that were on the ground, eroding but visible 300
years later.
"I looked down and started seeing the metal and
I literally, really, I just had to sit down on the ground," she said, "because I
was like 'This is too incredible.'"
Councilman Roberto Treviño was working on an
architectural project in the area when he got involved with the effort to
unearth the history.
"This is historic for the Italian buildings that
are here," he said, "but underneath that is the original San Antonio de Valero.
That's an extra layer of history."
Treviño added historians have been searching for
the site for a hundred years.
"People traveled thousands of miles from central
Mexico up here, by foot, by the way, to find the site, to establish the site,"
he said.
Hindes said the artifacts date to the correct
time period, and written records as well as topography point to the Italian
Society as being the location of the Alamo's predecessor.
"We don't know for sure, but we hypothesize that
probably they would have put the mission at the highest point," Hindes
said.
Treviño said a plaque at the Alamo states the
mission was founded in 1718, rather than 1724. "It's actually incorrect, but
we're setting the record straight."
By Michael Locklear
With many thanks to News4San
Antonio
Update:
Archaeologists make 'exciting' discovery in Alamo dig
Update:
Archaeologists make 'exciting' discovery in Alamo dig
Archaeologists digging at the
Alamo have discovered an adobe wall that may provide clues to the famous site’s
Spanish Colonial history.
The wall, which is about 23 inches below the flagstone surface of San Antonio's Alamo Plaza, was discovered Friday near where historians think the west wall of the complex was built. Experts are working to locate the compound’s original walls.
The location of the famous battle of the Alamo in 1836, the site was first established as a Spanish mission in 1744.
“Last week we very excited to discover we found the remnants of an old adobe brick wall,” explained Nesta Anderson, the dig’s lead investigator and senior archaeologist at Pape-Dawson Engineers, in a press conference Monday. “In the ground, we can see clearly, bricks stacked next to each other, they are made of adobe, so they are very fragile.”
The adobe is a type of material traditionally associated with Spanish Colonial structures in the area, according to experts.
At this stage, however, it is not clear whether the bricks are from the Alamo’s west wall or from another structure on the UNESCO World Heritage site. While the bricks may be from an outer wall of the compound, they may also be from the rooms where Native Americans lived outside the wall, Anderson said.
“We have still got a little bit to determine whether it’s an interior or an exterior wall – because we now have some evidence we really want to focus on chasing that evidence out,” she explained. “We will look to archival research, as well as altering, possibly, our digging – because we have got something from the Spanish Colonial period we know we’re digging in the right place at the right time.”
The three-to-four-week dig, which may encompass three locations in Alamo Plaza, began July 20 as part of ‘Reimagine the Alamo’, a project to develop a new master plan for the site and its surrounding area.
Initially, archaeologists had a tough time identifying the adobe wall, which is located just south of the Crockett building on Alamo St. “We’re not talking about solid bricks, just to be clear, this is almost a soil stain, if you will,” Anderson explained. “It’s a difference in color in the soil – these bricks are made of mud, so they are very sensitive to weather.”
Nonetheless, the bricks could offer vital clues to the Alamo’s history. “Depending on how many courses of brick, they might tell us a bit about the architecture that was used,” Anderson said.
The archaeologist told FoxNews.com that there is plenty left to discover at the Alamo site.
"We don't know as much as we thought we did from an archaeological perspective," she said. "There have been archaeological digs at the site from the 70s onwards, but they have just been snapshots."
By James Rogers
With many thanks to FoxNews
The wall, which is about 23 inches below the flagstone surface of San Antonio's Alamo Plaza, was discovered Friday near where historians think the west wall of the complex was built. Experts are working to locate the compound’s original walls.
The location of the famous battle of the Alamo in 1836, the site was first established as a Spanish mission in 1744.
“Last week we very excited to discover we found the remnants of an old adobe brick wall,” explained Nesta Anderson, the dig’s lead investigator and senior archaeologist at Pape-Dawson Engineers, in a press conference Monday. “In the ground, we can see clearly, bricks stacked next to each other, they are made of adobe, so they are very fragile.”
The adobe is a type of material traditionally associated with Spanish Colonial structures in the area, according to experts.
At this stage, however, it is not clear whether the bricks are from the Alamo’s west wall or from another structure on the UNESCO World Heritage site. While the bricks may be from an outer wall of the compound, they may also be from the rooms where Native Americans lived outside the wall, Anderson said.
“We have still got a little bit to determine whether it’s an interior or an exterior wall – because we now have some evidence we really want to focus on chasing that evidence out,” she explained. “We will look to archival research, as well as altering, possibly, our digging – because we have got something from the Spanish Colonial period we know we’re digging in the right place at the right time.”
The three-to-four-week dig, which may encompass three locations in Alamo Plaza, began July 20 as part of ‘Reimagine the Alamo’, a project to develop a new master plan for the site and its surrounding area.
Initially, archaeologists had a tough time identifying the adobe wall, which is located just south of the Crockett building on Alamo St. “We’re not talking about solid bricks, just to be clear, this is almost a soil stain, if you will,” Anderson explained. “It’s a difference in color in the soil – these bricks are made of mud, so they are very sensitive to weather.”
Nonetheless, the bricks could offer vital clues to the Alamo’s history. “Depending on how many courses of brick, they might tell us a bit about the architecture that was used,” Anderson said.
The archaeologist told FoxNews.com that there is plenty left to discover at the Alamo site.
"We don't know as much as we thought we did from an archaeological perspective," she said. "There have been archaeological digs at the site from the 70s onwards, but they have just been snapshots."
By James Rogers
With many thanks to FoxNews
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