Images of fieldwork from the San Felipe de Austin Site
March 19, 2005
On Saturday, Tommy Nuckols found the bottom of the cistern at a depth of 4.06 meters below datum. Excavation of the cistern was completed on Sunday March 20th - 5 months and 3 floods after we started.
The fill within the bottom of the cistern consisted of brick, wood, plaster, and clay - indicating that the cistern was abandoned because it had collapsed. One broken coffee cup was also present in the fill. Hence the scenario was probably as follows. One morning sometime around 1828, a colonist went out to the cistern to get water. He set his coffee cup on the top and the whole thing collapsed in a heap. In disgust he just filled it in and put in the large barrel to hold water. The barrel was later used for trash disposal during the Republic of Texas period.
January 5, 2005 - Marianne reaches the bottom of a large barrel found in the middle of a cistern.
December 12, 2003 - A windbreak offers protection on a cold day.
December 19, 2003 - A brick feature is discovered just below ground surface, possibly chimney foundation of a dog trot house.
December 12, 2003 - A brave gopher creates more work by adding extra dirt to the excavation unit.
December 20, 2003 - Work continues on the chimney foundation. Careful measurements and drawings ensure information gathered is precise and accurate.
December 20, 2003 - Artifacts include a thimble and various styles of ceramic sherds.
December 20, 2003 - Archeologist, Marianne Marek lays out new excavation units. A colonial era bottle is uncovered (left).
December 23, 2003 - Artifacts such as these large pieces of bricks and ceramics are drawn on a map with the aid of a drawing grid (left).
December 23, 2003 - Another pit reveals more brick and a large quantity of animal bone. Michael Moore, Director of the Fort Bend Museum (center), talks with Greg Sundborn (l) and Dick Gregg (r).