During fieldwork, people get their first glimpse of artifacts not seen for centuries. This exploration offers a window into the past and complements what is know through historic documents. It is still common to find intact objects underground at the Presidio.

Fieldwork is initiated for two reasons: research and resource management. It typically begins with a survey to locate, record, and evaluate previously undocumented sites. When appropriate, an excavation, often done with local universities, carefully explores beneath the surface.

Open Sites

Visitors can often watch researchers working in the field. U.C. Berkeley students hosted an “open site” when they excavated along Funston Avenue, the Presidio’s oldest streetscape. The Stanford University Tennessee Hollow Archaeology Project team, exploring at the Presidio’s El Polin Spring, welcomes hundreds of people each summer to watch while they work. Field work can also be viewed in progress at the Officers’ Club, where researchers are studying the Spanish-era adobe walls.