Cultural Resources Reconnaissance and Site Evaluation of Selected Areas at Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia

On June 23, 2004, Brockington and Associates, Inc. conducted a cultural resources reconnaissance and architectural survey of an Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) tract in Chatham County, Georgia. The 22.5 acre tract is located on the south side of Abercorn Street (SR 204) and is part of the university campus. The tract is the proposed location of a new parking area which will be an extension of the existing east parking lots for the university. The reconnaissance was conducted in compliance with the Georgia Environmental Policy Act (GEPA) and the State Agency Historic Property Stewardship Program.

The study also included an evaluation of three earthen berms associated with archaeological sites 9CH869, 9CH972 and 9CH973. The sites and three associated berms are located on a different triangular 30 acre tract north of the AASU campus and Abercorn Street and south of Hunter Army Airfield (Figures 1 and 2). The tract is bounded by Abercorn Street, Middleground Road, and Mohawk Drive. The 30 acre tract is also owned by AASU; however, there are no immediate development plans for this property and an intensive cultural resources survey was previously conducted there (Gantt 2001). For our study, we examined only the berms on this tract. Figure l is a locator map for the project, and Figure 2 is an aerial map of the two tracts and the AASU campus. The continuing question involving the berms · is whether or not they are nineteenth century military earthworks, perhaps associated with the Civil War.