Lunch with La Salle: The Excavation, Conservation and Interpretation of La Belle
by Brad Jones

The Heritage Society Tea Room
Free for members, $5 for non-members

Grounded in Matagorda Bay in 1686, the loss of the small frigate La Belle was the breaking point in the French explorer La Salle’s tragic expedition to found a colony in the Gulf of Mexico. Within three years La Salle was dead, the colony a ghost town, and the few survivors scattered. Excavated by the Texas Historical Commission in 1996-1997, the remains of the ship present an unparalleled view of the material culture of a French colonial enterprise and life on the frontier of European knowledge. Brad Jones, archeologist with the Texas Historical Commission will discuss the incredible efforts that went in to excavating, conserving, and interpreting this archeological treasure, while paying special attention to what the archaeology tells us about the foodways aboard the ship and in the colony.