The drawing
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has proved "remarkably accurate," Mendoza said, showing features that archaeological digs have confirmed: the old padres' quarters, stone fortification points and the Presidio's walls.
Cardero might have used a "camera lucida," a lens and glass plate that would have allowed him to trace the scene in detail on paper and pencil.
Diggings have turned up evidence of the previous fires — some accidental and some possibly set deliberately to rid the compound of accumulated fleas and other pests that moved in with the priests and soldiers.
"It was a practice then to burn buildings in times of epidemics in an effort to halt the spread of disease," he said.
In front of the church door, archaeology students have been clearing away dirt over what appear to be basalt flagstones brought from considerable distance to serve as flooring and foundation, Mendoza said.
The area, once the sanctuary where the altar stood, likely marks the spot where Father Junipero Serra, "the apostle of California," celebrated Mass, he said.
The wall footings mark the width of the chapel and, assuming a then-usual 2-1 ratio of length to width, its other end would reach to the edge of Church Street.
"This is a critical historic structure," Mendoza said, "that should be preserved or documented."
A colleague, San Diego archaeologist and historian Jack Williams, who has studied California's Spanish colonial history extensively, dates the next oldest church in the state as Mission San Juan Capistrano, founded in 1778, followed by Mission San Diego in 1790, Mendoza said. According to Mendoza, Williams believes the Monterey discovery should be placed on the National Historic Register.
"We want to make sure this feature is preserved," he said. "This is valuable to the Catholic and Christian heritage, and the architectural history of the state. Very little has survived from this period."
The oldest part of the present church was completed in 1794 and the rear apse and transept were added in 1858.
Restoration and seismic retrofitting work began in September. The cost, originally estimated at $5.5 million, has risen to more than $7 million as problems have been unearthed.
On June 3, the 238th anniversary of the founding of the church and the city of Monterey by Serra and Don Gaspar de Portolá, the building was officially declared earthquake safe.
Funding for the project comes almost entirely from the parish and the Diocese of Monterey, but there was an AT&T grant of $250,000, a Community Foundation of Monterey County grant of $47,500, and many smaller individual donations, said project manager Cathy Leiker. The parish is still seeking donations for the project.
The work is expected to be finished and the church reopened for services in early 2009, Leiker said.
Kevin Howe can be reached at
khowe@montereyherald.com or 646-4416.
