Pieces Of The Past: Excavation of Cathedral Built in 1794

[Shinobi]

Aug. 3--The history of Monterey is vividly coming alive for an archaeological team probing the soil beneath San Carlos Cathedral.

"This has been the project of a lifetime," said Ruben Mendoza, who has been leading the team on a dig on the property since May. "We've found more intact material here than any other mission site I've seen."

Discoveries made at the Church Street site will give historians a better picture of the Spanish presence in Monterey, he said.

"As a military installation, it was much more sophisticated than I would have anticipated," Mendoza said.

The chapel, which serves as the cathedral for the Monterey Diocese, is the fourth church on the site. The first church was the mission established by Father Junipero Serra in 1770. The mission was later moved to Carmel.

The existing church, built in 1794 to honor the king of Spain during establishment of the Presidio of Monterey, served as the chapel for Spanish colonial military outpost forces during Monterey's settlement.

The restoration project involves retrofitting to make the church safer during earthquakes, and refinishing walls and other structural and adornment items.

Items uncovered during the dig, Mendoza said, indicate materials used in building the third church, which was destroyed by fire in 1789 and replaced by the present church in 1794.

The third church was built of adobe over a shale foundation, with tiled floors and a thatched roof.

The pits indicated that presidio residents were "almost totally reliant on shellfish," Mendoza said.

He said he was surprised by the discovery of shards from pottery from throughout the world, including from Mexico and Europe.

"It does indicate the extent of trade and imports that came in through the harbor in Monterey," he said.

The dig uncovered a massive terrace made of boulders that ran between the church site and a defensive wall. The team also found a trove of random items, ranging from a military cuff link, a large Asian stoneware platter with themes depicting a fishing village and an old Spanish coin.

Mendoza said many items dug up will be offered to the San Carlos Cathedral conservation project and will ultimately be on display at the museum on the site.

Archaeologists got involved at the site when conservation project officials launched an effort to restore the old church, said project manager Cathy Leiker.

The team dug trenches as deep as 8 feet around the church.

Leiker said the conservation project is continuing to seek contributions to meet the expected $5 million cost of the renovation. The chapel is not eligible for state funds because it is a functioning church.

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