Archaeological Monitoring of the Excavation of a Burial Plot for an Archdiocese Reburial at Mission San Juan (41BX5), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

On December 8, 2022, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted archaeological monitoring at Mission San Juan (41BX5) in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The monitoring was performed in response to a request from the Archdiocese of San Antonio for monitoring the excavation of a pit for the reburial of mission related human remains. As the mission is a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), excavations on the property are subject to the Texas Antiquities Code and require review by the Texas Historical Commission. The work was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 30937. Cynthia Munoz served as Principal Investigator on the project and Michelle Carpenter served as Project Archaeologist. Archaeological work consisted of monitoring the hand excavation of one pit measuring approximately 1.8 m (6 ft.) long by 1.2 m (4 ft.) wide by 0.5 m (1.7 ft.) deep. Approximately 1.1 cubic meters (40.1 ft3) of sediments were manually excavated. No cultural features were encountered during monitoring. Low densities of faunal bone, floor tile, and bottle glass were noted. All records generated during this project were curated at the CAR in accordance with THC guidelines in CAR Accession No. 2700. No artifacts were collected.