CRM: Vogtle Effingham-Thalman 500kv Electric Transmission Line GP-SN-03: Data Recovery

Cultural property GP-SN-03 (designated (T) 9 Sn C.P. # 11 in Garrow 1984) is located in Screven County, Georgia within the Vidalia Uplands of the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province. It lies within the Savannah River drainage system, approximately 105 kilometers (km) from the Atlantic Ocean. GP-SN-03 is located on a low, sandy terrace/bluff (70 feet above sea level) overlooking the main channel of Brier Creek, approximately 500 m to the south (Figure 1). The Brier Creek swamp/flood plain is located immediately west of the property. The Designated Work Area (DWA) is presently vegetated in small pines and undergrowth, having been logged and mechanically planted within the past 15-20 years.

This property was first identified during the Resource Inventory II investigations (surface reconnaissance and intensive shovel testing) of the project corridor (Garrow 1984). During the initial investigation shovel testing indicated that buried cultural deposits were present at GP-SN-03. Early Archaic and Middle Woodland components were identified on the property during this phase. Figure 2 is an enlargement of the work area showing the cultural property as defined by the Resource Inventory II study (survey). The proposed transmission corridor crosses the property along a route heading approximately 65 degrees west of magnetic north.

Archaeological testing was confined to one Designated Work Area (DWA or study area) of proposed transmission line tower construction. The distribution of artifacts recovered from Resource Inventory II shovel tests indicated that the densest portion of the property was located outside and north of the DWA along the transmission line. Testing was conducted to assess the further research potential of this DWA and to provide data for planning subsequent work within the DWA. Further research was recommended for the DWA, based on the results of test excavations of 14 2 x 2 m test units. Testing of the DWA at GP-SN-03 produced evidence of minor Middle Archaic, and perhaps Mississippian, components, with the major occupations apparently having occurred during the Late Archaic and Late Middle Woodland periods. It should be noted that the remainder of the property, outside the DWA, will continue to be protected from disturbance under Georgia Power Company's Tentative Resource Treatment Plan (Shive 1984).