Archaeological Excavations at the Alamo Acequia, Southwest Hemisfair Plaza, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

In January 1989, the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted archaeological testing of the Alamo Acequia Madre at the southwest corner of HemisFair Plaza for the City of San Antonio. Six test trenches were excavated across the ace quia, and it was found that the stone lining on the east wall is, in most areas, in relatively good condition, but the west wall has been removed. The bottom two to three feet of the ace quia contains an accumulation of household trash discarded into it after the acequia ceased to hold water. Above this in some sections there is an accumulation of metal junk such as old bed springs and other furniture parts, along with a great deal of demolition debris from the surrounding house lots. The entire area is capped by layers of gravel and topsoil brought in at the time of the construction of HemisFair. Additional test trenching around buildings in the area to the north revealed that the fill depth was as much as two and one-half feet