October 11, 2004
ROBERT WILCOX
Victoria Advocate

GOLIAD - A significant historical find was made at Presidio La Bahia over the weekend during a public archaeological dig. Volunteers and members of several archaeological groups found what appears to be the "setting trench" for the original location of the palisades stockade wall at the fort.

The setting trench, which was uncovered Saturday and Sunday, is right in front of the parking lot of the presidio. Last year, archaeologists from the Texas Historical Commission conducted a magnetometer survey of the area, which produced a target area for a future dig. "We found a line in the survey that we wanted to examine in this year's dig," said Jeff Durst, an archaeologist from the Texas Historical Commission. "On a nearby ridge we found some modern trash and initially suspected the line might be a foundation of an old house." However, as the digging progressed over the weekend, it became apparent that it was the location of the palisades stockade wall. The walls were the first line of defense against attacks. The setting trench, on which the wooden wall resided, was built in the mid-1700s and still has footings for the original postholes.

The location of the palisades stockade wall has historical importance, according to officials and volunteers.

"Discovering unknowns about the past, where the original west wall was, is significant," said Newton Warzecha, the director at Presidio La Bahia.

"I think it's really awesome that this could be the palisades wall," said Jenna Bacorn, who volunteers at the Texas Historical Commission in Austin. Bacorn, who recruited her mother, Viva Bacorn, to help in this year's dig, is a senior archaeology major at the University of Texas at Austin.

The wall is located at a slight angle in relation to the presidio, was which was reconstructed in the mid-1960s by a private foundation.

Presidio La Bahia and the Texas Historical Commission have also started digs at two of the three possible Goliad massacre sites. The massacre of more than 340 Texans took place in Goliad during the Texas Revolution in the mid-1830s.

The men were led away from the fort on three different roads and then executed. Those roads were the old San Antonio road, the old Victoria road and the old Capano road.

The weekend's dig focused on the old Victoria Road and the old Capano road areas. Magnetometer surveys and some digs have just started. The location of the third road still needs to be researched, Warzecha said.

October is Texas Archaeology Month, with activities all around the state including the Goliad dig and an archaeological fair at the Museum of the Coastal Bend.

"People can learn how to conduct an archaeological dig using proper methods and techniques," Warzecha said.

As of noon on Sunday, archaeologists and volunteers were still searching for the end of the stockade wall.

Robert Wilcox is a reporter for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6514 or rwilcox@vicad.com.