cc: ARCH    --CMSNAMES                    SPANBORD--ASUACAD
 
From: Anita Cohen-Williams
Subject: San Diego Presidio Archaeological Project - Weeks 7-8
  (This communication covers the last two weeks of the project. It has been
delayed due to an administration foul-up at my library (they lost the FAX!).)
Week 7:
    We have some more news about the Chevron bead that was recovered in a
doorway in Week 5. It is only the second of its kind recovered in California,
however, it seems the bead is younger than was originally believed. Chevron
beads were made between the 16th and 18th centuries, and were formed by
dipping the bead into red, blue, and white melted glass, creating a layered
effect. Older beads have 6 or more layers, but the bead recovered in San Diego
has only 4, indicating that it was manufactured later on, perhaps during the
18th century.
    Room 9, the back room to Room 4 on the plaza, proved to hold several
interesting features. The southwest corner of this room had an entire level of
tejas (roof tiles) resting on the floor, apparently the result of the roof
collapsing after the abandonment of the presidio. One of these roof tiles has
a "mysterious" inscription of the letter sequence "O-A-R-P-K." The writing may
have continued, but the tile broke off at that point. What could the letters
signify? Someone's distracted handwriting practice?
   Underneath the rest of the roof tiles, we have recovered several
reconstructible pottery sherds. Among them were the remains of half of a blue
English transferware plate, most of a hand-painted floral peasantware cup, and
sections of a couple of small bowls.
   Week 8:
   As one of the two NCCC teams continued to excavate the presidio site, the
other spent part of the week excavating at Fort Stockton at the top of
Presidio Park. A large mural depicting the Mormon Battalion's march to
California stands at the site, and its foundation needs to be reinforced for
structural support. In order to ensure that the area was studied before major
construction starts, the team excavated the section just behind the mural.
Unfortunately, the area had been highly disturbed before, probably by the
original construction of the mural, so dating by stratigraphy was difficult.
Most of the artifacts were typically from the 1850's including pearlware and
stoneware. A possible archaic unifacial stone tool was found as well, and
could very well be a component of Presidio Hill dating from before the time of
the presidio's existence.
 
  The presidio dig is currently on hiatus, waiting for the next rotation of
NCCC members to arrive. The upcoming session [now in progress] will be only
six weeks long and will integrate a wider array of activities than simply the
presidio. The NCCC team traveled to the presidio of Tubac, Arizona, the last
week of March to work on that site for a week. They have since returned to San
Diego and have spent this past week being trained in lab work. Next week, they
will start work on the Presidio of San Diego again, and will also have the
opportunity to restore the trails (washed out by the recent rains) that
connect Presidio Park with the Old Town Historical Park. These trails are
primarily used by the fourth graders who come up to the park daily as part of
their school curriculum. A number of Corpsmembers have already been trained
through the NCCC on trail building and restoration.
 
Anita Cohen-Williams; Reference Services; Hayden Library
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ  85287-1006
PHONE: (602) 965-4579              FAX: (602) 965-9169
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