Earlier this year, the team, led by senior research Kolby Lanham, found a bronze cannonball that was fired by Mexican forces. This new cannonball is iron and was fired by the Texans defending the fort. The archaeologists said that the find was all the more poignant because it came on March 5, the day before the famed battle took place back in 1836.

The people of Texas had declared themselves independent from Mexico just a few days earlier. The Mexican Army, under President and General Antonio López de Santa Anna, were determined to bring Texas back into the fold. Santa Anna led the Army on a campaign into Texas territory. Knowing this, the Texas forces lugged a bunch of weapons and men to the Alamo, aiming to keep the Mexican Army out. A total of 18 cannons were installed at the Alamo, including an 18-pounder, one of the largest at that time. The Texians (as they were known) fortified the Alamo as best they could. Then, led by the some of the most famous fighting men of the time (including William Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie), they dug in and prepared for a fight. The number of Mexican soldiers that stormed the Alamo on March 6 was close to 1,500. The result was a resounding defeat for the defenders.

Previous digs have found shrapnel, but the cannonballs are the first intact bits of ammunition yet found. Both cannonballs were found in the northeast corner of the dig site.

As well, the earlier digs found stone tools used by indigenous people long before Spanish forces occupied the site in the 19th Century.