Archaeological Monitoring of Ben Milam Grave Stabilization at Milam Park (41BX922), San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

On March 20 and April 9, 2024, the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) conducted archaeological monitoring at Milam Park (41BX992) in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The monitoring was performed in response to a request from the City of San Antonio (COSA) Parks and Recreation Department for the stabilization of the Ben Milam Statue, located in Milam Park. At a municipal level, the project falls under the Unified Development Code of COSA, and the COSA Office of Historic Preservation. In addition, projects conducted on public land are subject to the Texas Antiquities Code and require review by the Texas Historical Commission. Consequently, the work was conducted under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 31669. Cynthia Munoz served as Principal Investigator on the project and Amber Hefner served as Project Archaeologist.

Excavation at the Milam Grave consisted of removal of damaged concrete at a sub-base level. Excavations were approximately 18 cm deep and were limited to the layer of sand previously imported for the Milam Grave statue. The size of the project area is less than one acre. No cultural features or artifacts were encountered during the monitoring. All records generated during this project were curated at CAR in accordance with THC guidelines. They are available under accession number 2899.