Cannonball 'very likely' fired in 1836 Battle of the Alamo found buried near church

The discovery was announced by the Alamo Trust, the nonprofit organization that oversees the Alamo Mission, on March 19.

The cannonball was uncovered on March 5 - just one day before the 190th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo.

The clash was fought between Mexican forces and Texian rebels, and began on Feb. 23, 1836.

Texian forces - including Davy Crockett and William B. Travis - held off a much larger Mexican army during a 13-day siege before Mexican troops launched a final assault.

Nearly all the roughly 200 Texian defenders were killed as Mexican forces overran the Alamo - and the "Remember the Alamo!" cry helped fuel a decisive Texian victory weeks later at San Jacinto.

The cannonball, which was found around three feet below the ground outside the Alamo Church, weighs four pounds.

Researchers also found four exploding shot fragments - three bronze and one iron - identified as Howitzer rounds designed to explode on impact and scatter shrapnel.

The cannonball is made of solid bronze and was "very likely" tied to the historic battle, said Tiffany Lindley, the director of archaeology at the Alamo.

She emphasized that the artifact's significance lies in its status as the only solid shot - or nonexplosive cannonball - of its size found at the site.

"Due to significant utilization of the site post-battle, the looting of the site in the immediate period following the battle, and previous utility installation, many artifacts - especially those this large - were taken off site," said Lindley. 

"Once an artifact is removed from its original deposition, it loses its context and, for researchers, it becomes less significant. … The context of this solid shot is what makes the find significant."

The cannonball joins over 250,000 artifacts found at the site, the expert added, which mostly include ceramic pieces, musket balls, adobe floor fragments and glass bottles.

"While not every artifact will find its way to public display, they all contribute to expanding the story of the Alamo," she noted.