Archaeological Investigation of the Bulverde Road Phase I Improvements, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

On April 12-15, 2019, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas completed an archaeological survey along a 1.4 km (0.9 mile) section of Bulverde Road in northeastern San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. This work was carried out in advance of the Bulverde Road Phase I Improvements Project in response to a request from the City of San Antonio (COSA). This project includes updates to pavement, drainage, and utilities along this section of Bulverde Road. The project area is located within a City of San Antonio (COSA) Right of Way (ROW), and the work was performed in advance of a road improvements project funded by the COSA. The survey, conducted under the requirements of the COSA’s Unified Development Code and the Antiquities Code of Texas, was carried out under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8799. Dr. Paul Shawn Marceaux served as Principal Investigator for the fieldwork, and José E. Zapata served as the Principal Investigator for the report production as well as the remaining tasks associated with the permit. Sarah Wigley served as Project Archaeologist. A pedestrian survey with shovel testing was conducted to identify potential cultural resources within the ROW. Thirty-six shovel tests were excavated, revealing that the project area is heavily disturbed by utilities and that soils are mostly shallow. Eight of the shovel tests were positive for cultural material. However, no temporally diagnostic artifacts or cultural features were documented within the project area. Two new archaeological sites, 41BX2311 and 41BX2312, were documented. Site 41BX2311 is a historic site containing fragments of large mammal bone and aqua container glass. Site 41BX2312 is a prehistoric site containing fragments of burned rock and debitage. The CAR recommends that neither site is eligible for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places or designation as a State Antiquities Landmark within the ROW. The CAR recommends that construction be allowed to proceed as planned. All collected artifacts and records generated during the course of this project are permanently curated at the CAR.