Alamo Archaeologists Unearth 4 1836 Cannonballs Near Church Perimeter

Q: Will metallurgical testing finally solve the mystery of who actually fired these newly unearthed bronze artifacts at the Alamo?

Probably not by itself. Metallurgical testing could strengthen the case that the bronze cannonballs were made in a way consistent with Mexican military ammunition, because bronze was commonly used by Mexican forces at the Alamo. If lab analysis identifies a metal composition, casting method or alloy mix that matches known Mexican ordnance, that would give archaeologists better evidence about where the shot was manufactured. But it is unlikely to “finally solve” who fired them. Archaeologists have already stressed the central problem: cannonballs in 1836 could be recovered, reused, moved or stockpiled by either side. Even if testing shows the balls were originally made for Mexican guns, that would not prove they were fired only by Mexican troops during the siege. Alamo defenders may have picked up and reused enemy shot, and battlefield objects were often shifted during and after combat. The strongest interpretation will come from combining metallurgy with context already cited by the Alamo Trust: the soil layer, depth, nearby musket balls and gun parts, the projectile sizes, and the location near what historians identify as a Mexican cannon position aimed toward the church. That context already makes Mexican fire the leading explanation. So metallurgical testing could narrow the possibilities and make attribution more persuasive, but the mystery may remain partly unresolved. In battlefield archaeology, provenance is often probabilistic rather than absolute.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 6

Four solid cannonballs tied to the 1836 Battle of the Alamo were uncovered along the perimeter of Alamo Church in San Antonio during ongoing excavations.
Sizes ranging from 1.8 to 3.26 inches match 1-pounder and 6-pounder guns, and archaeologists linked the finds to battle-era soil layers that also contained musket balls and gun parts.
Tiffany Lindley said three bronze cannonballs may have originated with Mexican forces firing toward the church, though either side could have reused them before or during the siege.
The find follows a 4-pounder cannonball discovered in March and a 6-pounder found in June, adding rare physical evidence from the 13-day battle that ended on March 6, 1836.