Excavations at the Alamo Shrine [page 26]

the footing had been installed some years prior to the construction of the foundation and might be the footing which supported the original stone church that subsequently collapsed. The construction of the foundation footing is remarkably similar to the technique recorded at Missions San Juan Bautista and San Bernardo (Eaton 1975,1976).

In building the church, there seem to have been three distinct construction phases (1) a foundation footing resting upon basal caliche which was placed within a footing trench; (2) a foundation wall installed upon this which rose above the old ground surface; and (3) the church walls, slightly less in thickness, which rest upon the foundation. The building walls above the foundation are described in the chapter on architecture.