Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Bazemore Mitigation Bank/Surplus Tract Screven County, Georgia

New South Associates, Inc. (New South) has completed the archaeological survey of approximately 222 acres of the Bazemore Mitigation Bank/Surplus Tract (GDOT PM #3427) east of Sylvania, Georgia in response to a request from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) who owns the 222-acre tract. The archaeological survey was done in accordance with the GDOT Environmental Procedures Manual (EPM). The work for this survey was conducted in compliance with the Georgia Environmental Policy Act (GEPA) and the State Agency Historic Property Stewardship Program for state funded activities and was intended to determine the presence of significant archaeological resources in the project’s Area of Potential Effect (APE) in preparation for the upcoming sale through GDOT's Department of Right-of-Way Office. The APE for the current project was defined as the 222-acre parcel of land situated south of Buck Creek Road approximately six miles east of Sylvania, Screven County, Georgia. Fieldwork was conducted from August 16 to September 1, 2017. As a result of the survey, one new site and one isolated find was identified. Site 9SN257 is a precontact camp site that abuts the eastern boundary of the APE and east of South Prong Buck Creek. The overall artifact density is low and New South believes there is a lack of integrity for the delineated portion of the site. However, given that the site may continue beyond the APE, the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility status under Criterion D of the site is unknown. The isolated find (IF-1) was located in the southeastern APE and consisted of one chert flake recovered from a shovel test. Since the portion of 9SN257 within the Bazemore Tract lacks significant data potential, New South recommends no further work.