California cannon find

Encrusted with rust and clay, a cannon that could date from the late 18th or early 19th century was unearthed Wednesday morning by workers replacing sewer and water lines along Monterey Street in downtown San Luis Obispo.

"This is a major discovery," said Bob Rowe, an archaeologist with TRC, a New Mexico-based archaeological consulting firm working with contractors on the project. "This is the first (cannon) I've seen out here on the West Coast."

Rowe said the squat shape of the 2 1/2-foot-long cannon indicates it probably came from an English merchant ship. At an estimated 250 pounds, the cannon required two workers to hoist it from the trench.

Cal Poly history professor and local historian Dan Krieger speculated that the cannon could have been acquired by the Rev. Antonio Martinez to protect the Mission from attack by American Indians or the French pirate Hipolyte Bouchard, who raided towns along the California coast.

Posted by David on June 19, 2003 10:51 PM