An Archaeological Survey and Resource Assessment of 145 Acres of the Proposed Alamo Community College District Campus in Northern Bexar County, Texas

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), in response to a request from Adams Environmental, Inc. (AEI), conducted an intensive archaeological survey of a tract of land in north Bexar County, Texas. The land is owned by the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) and is the site for the proposed North Campus (ACCD-NC). The project required review by the Texas Historical Commission (THC) under the Antiquities Code of Texas (Texas Natural Resource Code, Title 9, Chapter 191, Sections 191.003(4) and 191.052(5) as amended) because ACCD is a political subdivision of Texas and the work was conducted on publicly owned lands. The THC granted Texas Antiquities Permit No. 8671, originally issued to Paul Shawn Marceaux. Dr. Marceaux served as the Principal Investigator and managed the project until his departure from CAR, at which time José Zapata took over the Principal Investigator role. Leonard Kemp served as the Project Archaeologist. The Area of Potential Effect (APE) is a tract of land in north Bexar County, just south of the Bexar and Kendall county line. U.S. Interstate Highway 10 binds it on the east. Balcones Creek forms the northern boundary, with Balcones Creek Road forming the southern boundary. Private properties adjacent to Boerne Stage Road form the western boundary. The APE is approximately 145 acres (0.58 km2). The field investigation was conducted between December 13, 2018, and February 21, 2019. CAR excavated 113 shovel tests and 12 trenches within the APE. CAR defined nine new archaeological sites. There are seven prehistoric sites (41BX2299, 41BX2300, 41BX2301, 41BX2302, 41BX2303, 41BX2304, and 41BX2305) and one historical site (41BX2306). One additional site 41BX2298 has an indeterminate temporal period. At present, no construction plans have been made available to CAR or AEI from ACCD or its representatives. Therefore, the following recommendations are provided to mitigate impacts on archaeological resources from unknown future construction events. Of the nine sites recorded by CAR, two sites (41BX2299 and 41BX2306) are recommended for listing as State Antiquities Landmarks (SAL) and eligible to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Six sites (41BX2300, 41BX2301, 41BX2302, 41BX2303, 41BX2304, and 41BX2305) are recommended as not eligible for designation as SALs or inclusion to the NRHP. Lastly, not enough information was obtained from site 41BX2298 to make eligibility recommendations. Additional investigation is needed to determine its eligibility status. The THC concurs with CAR's recommendations that 41BX2229 and 41BX2306 be designated SALs and are eligible for listing on the NRHP and with CAR's recommendation that sites 41BX2300, 41BX2301, 41BX2302, 41BX2303, 41BX2304, and 41BX2305 are not eligible for designation as SALs or for listing on the NRHP. According to the THC, site 41BX2306 should be avoided or further mitigated if it will be impacted by future construction or development activities. Furthermore, based on the density of archaeological sites CAR documented, the THC recommends archaeological monitoring of construction within the central portion of the project area. All recovered artifacts and project-related materials, including the final report, are curated at CAR curation facility. The facility is a state certified repository.