Article Title

Intensive Archeological Survey Of The San Antonio River Authority's Westside Creeks Improvement Project: Alazan And Martinez Phase Bexar County, Texas

Authors

Josh Haefener
Ashleigh Knapp
Dr. Victor Galan

Agency

Texas Historical Commission

Abstract

In July and August of 2014, under Texas Antiquities Permit #6914, Hicks & Company completed an intensive archeological survey of the Alazan Creek and Martinez Creek Hike and Bike Trail Improvements Project in Bexar County, Texas. Since construction of the new trails and park improvements will take place on land to be owned by the City of San Antonio, it is subject to the Antiquities Code of Texas. Additionally, the project will require permit coordination with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, necessitating compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended.

The archeological investigations consisted of pedestrian survey supplemented by shovel testing (n = 18) and backhoe trenching (n = 2). No archeological sites were revisited or newly recorded during this survey. Archival research and in-person interviews with local scholars indicate that the current location of the historical marker for the Battle of the Alazan could be in the wrong place, with the battle possibly occurring approximately 2,400 meters northwest of its current assumed location. However, posited possible new locations have not been archeologically confirmed. The remainder of the project area, due to its location in an urban and industrial setting and by landform modifications to the drainages, has been extensively disturbed and demonstrates limited potential to contain intact archeological deposits. Hicks & Company recommends that the proposed project be allowed to proceed with no further cultural resource coordination.

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