The Archaeology of the Alamo: A Self-Guided Walking Tour and Personal Account - Softcover

Uecker, Herbert G.

9780971629400: The Archaeology of the Alamo: A Self-Guided Walking Tour and Personal Account

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0971629404 ISBN 13: 9780971629400

Publisher: Monte Comal Publications, 2001

In his first book, The Archaeology of the Alamo: A Self-Guided Walking Tour and Personal Account, city archaeologist and native San Antonio author Herbert G. Uecker takes readers on a self-guided walking tour of Alamo archaeology. The book is written in a popular, non-technical style directed at tourists, tour guides, and the general public, but is detailed enough to be of interest to historians, archaeologists, and other professional researchers. It is produced in an 8.5” X 5.5” soft cover format, has 108 pages, nine chapters, three insets, a glossary, two appendices, 25 black and white figures, and four color photographs.

The Alamo’s fascinating past is revealed through the author’s personal experiences as a participant in five of the 15 archaeological investigations that have occurred at or near the Alamo. These include the first investigation in 1966, in which the author participated as a high school student volunteer, and four others in 1979, 1988, 1989, and 1995. A self-guided walking tour with six stops around Alamo Plaza and the Alamo grounds is presented in Appendix 2. Brief narratives and historic photographs of excavations and findings are included for each stop. The main text contains detailed information about the stops and about several additional investigations.

Among the many interesting finds described are the human skull found in the North Courtyard in 1979, remnants of two military fortifications built along the South Wall in the fall of 1835 by the Mexican Army under the command of Santa Anna’s brother-in-law, General Mart�n Perfecto de C�s, that were unearthed in Alamo Plaza in 1988 and 1989, and two rare 1818 Garza coins that were found on the west side of the plaza in 1979. The author presents a strong case that the ashes and charred bones found under the street in front of the Alamo Shrine in 1995 may be some of the last remains of the Texian Alamo defenders’ bodies that were burned just after the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

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About the Author:

Herbert G. Uecker has over 35 years of experience in the archaeology of Central and South Texas, including participation in five archaeological investigations at the Alamo from 1966 to 1995. He is a National Dean’s List honor graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he received his Master of Arts Anthropology degree. He is currently on the staff of the City of San Antonio’s Department of Planning, Historic Preservation and Design Division. He is a former reviewer with the Texas Historical Commission and a former Research Associate with the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Center for Archaeological Research.

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