The limestone quarry that the Spanish used to construct the Alamo in the 18th century was uncovered during a recent dig at the San Antonio Zoo.
Crews at the zoo were excavating ahead of building a new gorilla habitat and event center when they found a lot of limestone. Geological testing comparing the uncovered limestone and samples from the Alamo conducted by Highbridge Materials Consulting found that they matched.
This helped confirm that the zoo’s western end was built over the quarry used for the Alamo and other buildings erected during San Antonio’s early years, the nonprofit Alamo Trust said in a release Thursday.
Thursday was also the 189th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Alamo.
The San Antonio de Valero mission was first constructed in 1718 and relocated in 1724, and buildings there, including the Alamo, were made from the locally sourced limestone.
The Alamo was intended to be a complete stone church, but a collapse in 1756 and the secularization of the mission in 1793 prevented it from being completed, the Alamo Trust explains on its website.
“The San Antonio Zoo, which has been a part of our community for over a century, is honored to play a role in uncovering this important piece of Texas and world history. This is an incredible example of how history continues to reveal itself, even in the middle of progress,” San Antonio Zoo CEO Tim Morrow said.
The newly found limestone could be used to make repairs at the Alamo, according to ABC’s “Good Morning America.” It is going through a $550 million redevelopment set to be completed in 2027.
