Archeologists made a discovery that is rewriting local history. It’s been said Spanish explorer Coronado traveled through Albuquerque in the 1500s, but there was no proof he had been here until now.

Workers at the Coronado Historic Site are digging through packets and packets of history. The site is named after the 16th-century Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado. It’s rumored that he traveled through the area in search of the Seven Cities of Gold in northern New Mexico, but they never had proof he was here, until now.

Nails, weapons, and bits of armor are all linked to Coronado and his army.

“That one is bent because it hit something,” said a site volunteer showing a piece of crossbow metal.

Researchers have been poring over the area for the past year and a half. They originally thought Coronado just passed through, but these artifacts tell a different story.

“The large numbers of Spanish leveled artifacts such as the musket balls and the chain metal, along with Native American weapons such as war balls, axes, sling stones, represent a battle,” said New Mexico Historic Sites Regional Manager Matthew Barbour. “People here resisted at Kuaua.”

This discovery is making it easier to understand what really happened here five centuries ago.

“They tell a story of military force to subdue this village,” said Barbour.

Those researchers have so far covered two-thirds of the site. They plan to display their findings at the site next summer.