Conference Agenda

The artifacts recovered from the Alamo Church and Long Barrack Restoration Project underwent various lab processing methods to ensure the preservation, organization, and integrity of the artifact assemblage. All cultural material was processed at the onsite archaeological lab where artifacts were washed, sorted, and cataloged. Throughout the sorting and cataloging stages, specific artifact classification systems were implemented to ensure organization, proper identification, and standardization of data. Additionally, this classification system aided in the various quality control checks performed during lab processing, and most importantly, the artifact analysis. Overall, archaeological investigations rendered thousands of artifacts that both intrigued and challenged project personnel. This paper aims to explore lab processing methodologies, artifact classification system, general summary of assemblage, and future research.

During the 2019–2020 archaeological investigations at the Mission San Antonio de Valero, 12 historic burial features were recovered from the interior of the Alamo Church. The 12 exhumed burials represented a minimum number of 14 individuals, comprising nine adults and five subadults. Osteological preservation varied across the site due to environmental factors, taphonomic effects, and vertical placement of interments within the Alamo Church. The variability posed methodological challenges, prompting alternative approaches in analysis between individuals. The result was a multifocal approach that gained insight into the overall demography of these historic individuals, offering new perspectives on mission life and its inherent hardships. This presentation examines the preliminary results of the osteological findings and discusses the methodological challenges encountered in estimating the biological profile of these mission-era individuals.

In 2006, the University of Texas at San Antonio with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas hosted a field school at the Alamo (41BX6), one of the first excavations at the site to occur in a decade. Another decade passed before additional excavations occurred, with a “Dream Team” of archaeologists assembled in 2016 to kick off the development of a masterplan for the improvements on the Alamo grounds to assist visitors in better understanding the site. Once the Master Plan was established, the State of Texas’s first focus was the preservation needs of the historic structures, requiring significant archaeological investigations of the Church and Long Barrack, opening areas that had not been seen since initial construction. This presentation examines different ways that the archaeological investigations were presented to the general public, stakeholder involvement, and the committees, plans, and outreach produced as a result making the investigations more accessible to the public.

Since the establishment of Mission San Antonio de Valero at its current location in 1724, the adjoining open plaza has served as a communal space for mission residents, various militaries, and early businesses of Bexar County. Throughout the centuries, the plaza was utilized for a myriad of purposes, invoking different meaning each time. Now known as Alamo Plaza, this space was enclosed by a wall during the Mission Period and a gate on the south side was the main point of entry. A barrack was added by the military in the early 19th century. By the late 19th century, Alamo Plaza became a bustling center due to the presence of a military depot, a hotel, and several businesses. Recent archaeological investigations have provided new data regarding the historical use of Alamo Plaza. The rich history of Alamo Plaza has imbued it with a social memory that is still relevant today.

In 1724 the Franciscan Friars moved the mission from its second site to its final location on the east bank of the San Antonio River. Several temporary structures were erected early on, but their conversion to permanent facilities lagged. Even after the compound layout was finalized twenty years later, the internal subdivision and use of space continued to change, as did the size of the mission compound. This paper reviews these changes in site structure and examines the factors that lead to this flexible architectural layout. Recent revaluation of the mission inspection records and extensive excavations at the site suggest that the absence of a Master Mason, quarried building stone, and trained indigenous labor, coupled with labor demands associated with the construction of mission infrastructure, fluctuating population, and relationships with mounted indigenous groups conditioned the ever-changing mission layout.

During the 2022–2023 Alamo Plaza Main Gate and Lunette Project, five archaeological test units were excavated to identify cultural deposits and/or features related to the South Wall and Main Gate of the former Mission San Antonio de Valero, known today as the Alamo. The test units were located near the center of Alamo Plaza Park, at the center of downtown, San Antonio, Texas, USA. Alamo Plaza Park is an open, municipal space that has endured drastic landscape alterations over the past three centuries. As such, a geoarchaeological assessment was conducted for the 39 soil samples systematically collected during the 2022–2023 investigations. Utilizing particle size analysis, magnetic susceptibility, and pressure calcimetry, each sample was tested and defined. Data produced through these analyses establish a scientific correlation between the soils recovered, to known anthropogenic deposits and the underlying intact sediments within the urban landscape surrounding the historic site.

In 2018, preservation experts at Mission San Antonio de Valero, or the Alamo, constructed a plan to address the deterioration of the centuries-old Church and Long Barrack. The poor state of the buildings was not unknown, as rising damp was previously detected in the Church. However, the preservation team wanted to investigate additional contributing factors. A large-scale, multidisciplinary below grade project was needed to understand the construction of foundations, identify the critical dimensions of the buildings, and monitor the impact of moisture content and movement. Nineteen excavation units were placed in strategic locations against the Church and Long Barrack walls, as well as in the courtyard. The archaeological investigations allowed the preservation experts to document existing conditions and thus develop a plan to address any architectural issues. The results of the project have long-reaching implications for the preservation of the structures and have added to our knowledge of the site.

Between 2019 and 2020, archaeologists conducted a series of test excavations within the footprint of the former Mission San Antonio de Valero – known today as the Alamo – for the Alamo Church and Long Barrack Restoration Project. These investigations aimed to assist preservationists in completing a series of architectural assessments for the two remaining structures of the first Franciscan mission established along the San Antonio River in central Texas, USA. During a seventeen-month field season, 24 historic burial features and over 10,000 unassociated human remain fragments were documented. This presentation focuses on the characteristics of the burial features, including interment types and their distribution within the Alamo Church. The discussion will conclude with proposed research avenues focusing on the documented burial features, including comparative analyses of burial practices and how these features can contribute to furthering our understanding of the construction sequence of the historic Alamo Church.