Cultural Resources Assessment of a Proposed Solid Waste Landfill Site and Evaluative Testing at Archeological Site 9Da67

As required by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USAGE) has requested DeKalb Resources, Inc. to conduct a cultural resources assessment for a proposed solid waste landfill site as a component of the Clean Water Act, Section 404 permitting process. Under 33 CFR Part 325, the USACE must process Section 404 permit applications with respect to Section 106 of the NHPA. The project area is located on Soapstone Ridge in southwest DeKalb County, immediately southeast of Interchange 39 of Interstate 285. Previous investigations along Soapstone Ridge (Wauchope 1966; Dickens and Barber 1976; Dickens and Carnes 1976; Dickens et al. 1978 and 1979; Garrow 1984; Elliott 1986) have identified prehistoric resources dating to the Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian periods; however, the majority of the sites recognized on Soapstone Ridge appear to have focused on the extraction and refinement of soapstone. Investigations in the current project area should provide additional information regarding the prehistoric soapstone quarrying industry. The cultural resources assessment was performed to locate and identify cultural resources within the proposed solid waste landfill site, and assess their significance by National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria [36 CFR Part 60.4(d)] and provide an assessment of the effect that the project may have on cultural resources within impact areas. Cultural Resources Assessment Results, Conclusions and Recommendations. During October 1990 and May 1991, Law Environmental (Mr. Robert S. Webb, Principal Investigator) conducted a cultural resources assessment of the proposed solid waste landfill site. One previously recorded prehistoric site, 9DA67, one 19th/early 20th century series of stone terraces (Site DCL 1-1), two middle to late 20th century commercial structures (Structures 1 and 2) and one isolated find (IF-1) were detected during the field assessment. Site 9DA67 is a prehistoric soapstone quarry and quarry tool manufacturing site. Although no diagnostic artifacts have been recovered from the site, the site's association with soapstone implies a Late Archaic affiliation. The expedient nature of the tools present and the lack of an associated habitation area, suggests that this site was used on a short-term basis for the purpose of extracting and reducing soapstone artifacts to a level that facilitated transport to another location. Site DCL 1-1 is a series of surface level stone terraces that are probably related to agricultural activity dating to the 19th and/or the early 20th century. Within the physical context of the project area, the vicinity containing this site is the only area suitable for cultivation. Structures 1 and 2 are buildings that are clearly less than 50 years of age. They represent commercial development along Moreland Avenue during the middle 20th century that persisted into the late 20th century. It is not clear whether the two structures are related to each other.