For one week in May 1986, archaeologists from the Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio excavated Fort Martin Scott to locate the foundations of the original buildings. Some foundations of the original officers' quarters were already visible before the survey, while other structures were located with the help of an 1853 Army survey of the post that showed building locations. The discovery of the cut-stone foundation of the fort's bakery oven and the foundation of the laundresses' quarters was especially significant, and a metal-detector sweep identified the probable location of the blacksmith shop behind the enlisted men's quarters. Working under a blistering sun with shovels and trowels, the archaeologists unearthed 754 artifacts, though the total would likely have been higher if trash dumps or privies had been excavated. The site produced glass fragments from windows and bottles, various ceramic shards, hand-forged square-cut nails dropped by the original builders more than 130 years earlier, and a few military objects attributed to soldiers stationed at Fort Martin Scott from 1848 to 1853.