In observance of Texas Archeology Month in October, the county historical commission is inviting the public to a two-hour program starting at 6 p.m. in the First Baptist Church, 240 Green St. in Rockdale, featuring Bruseth, Texas Historical Commission archaeology division director.

Bruseth and his wife, Toni Turner, wrote a book titled “From a Watery Grave,” based on the excavation of the Belle, Dr. Green said.

Autographed copies of Bruseth’s book will be available at the event, Dr. Green said.

Bruseth will chronicle the excavation of the ship and the story of French explorer La Salle, who embarked from La Rochelle, France, to establish a colony in the New World. In February 1686, the last of his vessels sank in a violent storm in Matagorda Bay.

Thirty miles inland near the present-day city of Victoria, La Salle established Fort St. Louis as a settlement for pioneers who accompanied him to the New World. None survived, including the famed explorer, the Texas Historical Commission reported.

Nearly 300 years later, Texas Historical Commission archaeologists discovered the wreck of the Belle, and with it an entire “tool kit” for survival in the New World.

“I worked seven day weeks and 12-hour days, but had one of the most fascinating archaeological jobs in the world,” Bruseth said. “Our decision to excavate the entire shipwreck at once yielded invaluable information that would have been difficult to discern from a series of field seasons.”

A giant cofferdam - built around the vessel to pump seawater out so archaeologists could work in a dry environment - earned the attention of nautical experts from around the world.

Severe storms threatened the safety of staff keeping watch over the work site at night. The state of Texas, as well as public and private resources, assisted with funding the massive project, which resulted in the excavation of more than 1 million artifacts, including a crewmember’s skeleton and the ship’s hull.

The Belle is one of the most important shipwrecks ever discovered in North America. The excavation in 1996-97 led by Bruseth lasted almost a year and produced an array of finds including three bronze cannons, thousands of glass beads, bronze hawk bells and pottery. The 1 million artifacts represent items needed by an explorer to colonize the New World, but today are considered priceless historical treasures, Dr. Green said.

The project has now shifted to the conservation phase, in which every artifact is carefully identified, cleaned and preserved. The hull of the ship has also been reconstructed and is undergoing chemical treatment to preserve it. Artifacts that have not been treated, numbering in the tens of thousands will decay over time and their historical significance will be lost, Dr. Green said.

Many Belle artifacts are currently displayed at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, and others will be exhibited in museums around Matagorda Bay.

The Texas Historical Commission excavated two of Texas’ most important archaeological sites relating to La Salle. First was La Salle’s ill-fated ship, the Belle, and the second occurred in 1999 to 2000 when archaeologists explored Fort St. Louis, the settlement La Salle and his stranded colonists established on Garcitas Creek.

After the excavations, seven museums in six Texas coastal counties banded together to create the La Salle Odyssey, a series of exhibits that together tell the extraordinary story of La Salle’s expedition and the THC excavations.

Each October, the historical commission observes Texas Archeology Month to promote this spirit of discovery, and provide the opportunity for Texans to understand the depth and richness of their heritage from the former dwellings of prehistoric hunters to ancient shipwrecks and Civil War sites.

Texas Archeology Month began Wednesday. This year’s celebration across the state includes demonstrations of native crafts and technologies, lectures on archaeological topics, exhibits on archaeological sites or topics, tours of historical sites, laboratories or exhibits, and hands-on activities, such as mock digs and rock art replication, the historical commission reported.