SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Test Dig Unearths 5-Foot Adobe Wall

It’s not a buried treasure, but archeologists testing the grounds behind the historic Avila Adobe downtown have unearthed a 5-foot-tall adobe wall never before documented by city historians, according to James Brock of the Archeological Advisory Group.

“The wall dates back to the Mission era or perhaps the mid-19th Century,” Brock said. “It is certainly the most exciting thing we have found so far. And it looks like there may be stuff underneath it.”

The wall was found during one of several test digs being done on the grounds of the controversial Franciscan Plaza II on Camino Capistrano just a few yards from the 214-year-old Mission San Juan Capistrano. Other digs on the property have unearthed a well and cistern, a wall foundation, bones, shells and an array of artifacts, some of which date back to the Mission era.

The archeological assessment of the property, which has gone on for the past three weeks, was required by the city before construction on the Franciscan Plaza can continue. The second phase of the project is scheduled to include a restaurant, retail and office space on a half-acre parcel behind the 19th-Century Avila Adobe.

The Friends of Historic San Juan Capistrano, a local group organized two years ago to protest the construction of the Franciscan Plaza, has criticized the design and size of the plaza. Partly because of the group’s concerns, Domingo Belardes, a member of the Juaneno Indian tribe, has monitored the excavations.

Paul Farber, the developer of the Franciscan Plaza, said he has “reserved judgment” on what the findings mean for the future of his project until they can be checked by city officials. Roberta Greenwood, an archeological consultant hired by the city to oversee construction in the historic downtown area, was scheduled to inspect the site today.

“We expected to find things out there and then decide what’s going to be done with them,” Farber said. “We don’t know how much of a wall we have out there yet.”

City historian Pamela Gibson said she is not surprised that an unknown wall was found buried behind the adobe.

“It makes sense to me that there would be more to the adobe back there,” she said. “Most of the haciendas of that era were built in a square shape. Some of them were probably gone by the time people were documenting things like that.”

According to legend, a buried treasure is hidden somewhere behind the Avila Adobe, former home of Juan Avila, nicknamed “El Rico” because of his riches.

“A leather chest filled with gold is supposedly hidden in a chamber underneath the floor of a bedroom somewhere on the adobe,” Gibson said.