Texas Jay
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 1,152
- Reaction score
- 1,363
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Brownwood, Texas
- Detector(s) used
- Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger, Garrett Ace 350, Garrett Ace 250, vintage D-Tex SK 70, Tesoro Mojave, Dowsing Rods
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
- #1
Thread Owner
From: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery
While cleaning out some old cabinets at the house the other day, I found an old newspaper clipping that I'd clipped and tucked away in 1994, before I even knew how to use a computer.
I'll transcribe it here. Menard is less than 100 miles from Brownwood and the Spanish also had several productive mines in the area.
~Jay~
***
From: Brownwood Bulletin, 1-16-1994
"Missing mission unearthed near Menard
Menard, Texas (AP) - An excited team of archaeologists say a roadside alfalfa field where Spanish artifacts recently were unearthed is the site of the 'missing mission' - the ill-fated Mission Santa Cruz de San Saba.
Established in 1757 by Spanish priests as an attempt to convert Apache Indians to Christianity, the mission was burned to the ground 10 months later by more than 2,000 Comanches and other Indians who were enemies of the Apaches.
At least eight of the 35 people at the mission, including two priests, were killed in the attack.
The site's location has remained a mystery for more than a century because any salvageable materials left after the raid were removed by Spanish soldiers within months of the incident.
But in September, the field was plowed and the artifacts were brought to the surface. Their discovery led Texas Tech archaeologists to conduct a dig last week on property three miles east of Menard owned by Menard County Judge Otis Lyckman.
Menard is about 60 miles southeast of San Angelo and about 160 miles northwest of San Antonio.
The excavation by about 15 students and other researchers using shovels and hand trowels began Jan. 7 and is to conclude by Sunday.
They've already found chunks of mud that were packed in the walls of the wooden stockaded mission, various iron nails and hinges, a shard of 'Majolica' glazed tin ware, a copper thimble and numerous musket balls, some flattened by impact as they hit their targets.
Perhaps one of the most striking artifacts is a tiny religious medallion depicting a saint with arms stretched toward heaven.
Officials warn, however, that the search into this mystery along the south bank of the San Saba River is far from complete.
Team leader Grant Hall, an assistant professor of anthropology at Texas Tech, said his archaeologists want to continue the dig if funding permits, and if the Lyckman family is agreeable.
'There is a mystique attached to this site,' Hall said. 'This has been the missing mission. This was the site of the first contact between Europeans and Apaches in Texas.'
Holes about two feet deep dot the alfalfa field, which has been marked by red flags to identify locations where metal detectors indicated the presence of metallic objects.
Hall said the Menard site is significant for its archaeological challenges. Many sites contain multiple layers of artifacts if they have been occupied for extended periods. Not so with this mission.
'This site was only occupied for 10 months, and that creates an incredibly tight time capsule,' he said. 'That's almost unheard of in archaeology.'
Funding for the weeklong operation was provided through the Texas Historical Foundation, he said."
***
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com
While cleaning out some old cabinets at the house the other day, I found an old newspaper clipping that I'd clipped and tucked away in 1994, before I even knew how to use a computer.
I'll transcribe it here. Menard is less than 100 miles from Brownwood and the Spanish also had several productive mines in the area. ~Jay~
***
From: Brownwood Bulletin, 1-16-1994
"Missing mission unearthed near Menard
Menard, Texas (AP) - An excited team of archaeologists say a roadside alfalfa field where Spanish artifacts recently were unearthed is the site of the 'missing mission' - the ill-fated Mission Santa Cruz de San Saba.
Established in 1757 by Spanish priests as an attempt to convert Apache Indians to Christianity, the mission was burned to the ground 10 months later by more than 2,000 Comanches and other Indians who were enemies of the Apaches.
At least eight of the 35 people at the mission, including two priests, were killed in the attack.
The site's location has remained a mystery for more than a century because any salvageable materials left after the raid were removed by Spanish soldiers within months of the incident.
But in September, the field was plowed and the artifacts were brought to the surface. Their discovery led Texas Tech archaeologists to conduct a dig last week on property three miles east of Menard owned by Menard County Judge Otis Lyckman.
Menard is about 60 miles southeast of San Angelo and about 160 miles northwest of San Antonio.
The excavation by about 15 students and other researchers using shovels and hand trowels began Jan. 7 and is to conclude by Sunday.
They've already found chunks of mud that were packed in the walls of the wooden stockaded mission, various iron nails and hinges, a shard of 'Majolica' glazed tin ware, a copper thimble and numerous musket balls, some flattened by impact as they hit their targets.
Perhaps one of the most striking artifacts is a tiny religious medallion depicting a saint with arms stretched toward heaven.
Officials warn, however, that the search into this mystery along the south bank of the San Saba River is far from complete.
Team leader Grant Hall, an assistant professor of anthropology at Texas Tech, said his archaeologists want to continue the dig if funding permits, and if the Lyckman family is agreeable.
'There is a mystique attached to this site,' Hall said. 'This has been the missing mission. This was the site of the first contact between Europeans and Apaches in Texas.'
Holes about two feet deep dot the alfalfa field, which has been marked by red flags to identify locations where metal detectors indicated the presence of metallic objects.
Hall said the Menard site is significant for its archaeological challenges. Many sites contain multiple layers of artifacts if they have been occupied for extended periods. Not so with this mission.
'This site was only occupied for 10 months, and that creates an incredibly tight time capsule,' he said. 'That's almost unheard of in archaeology.'
Funding for the weeklong operation was provided through the Texas Historical Foundation, he said."
***
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com
