Archaeological services associated with improvements to Miraflores at Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Abstract

In September and October of 2008, the Center for Archaeological Research carried out archaeological testing of Miraflores Park located on Hildebrand Ave between the San Antonio River and the AT&T parking lot. A total of 122 shovel tests were excavated within the project area on a modified 10 x 10 m grid. In addition to the shovel tests, four 50 x 50 cm units and one 50 x 100 cm test unit were excavated to gain more information of certain areas. Four hand-excavated trenches were dug within the project area in order to uncover encountered features. Testing revealed a prehistoric component in the northeast portion of the property. Also, it appears that large portions of the park were filled in after it was sold to USAA. When construction commences on the park, CAR recommends that archaeological monitoring occur during construction/rehabilitation of the park in areas that archaeological investigations and archival research indicated that buried features may be found. The archaeological investigation was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 4653, with Marybeth Tomka serving as Principal Investigator. All artifacts collected were processed in the Center for Archaeological Research laboratory, where they remain for permanent curation.