GPR Survey at Gascoigne Bluff, St. Simons Island, Georgia LAMAR Institute Publication Series, Report Number 165

This report presents the findings of a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey by the LAMAR Institute on a portion of Gascoigne Bluff on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. This project was performed on October 16, 2010 in conjunction with the Fall meeting of the Society for Georgia Archaeology. The project had the combined purposes of a public demonstration project and a research project. The public was allowed to participate in the data collection and was informed of the employed non-destructive remote-sensing technology and preliminary findings. Data collected by the project was post-processed to create a series of maps that reveal the subsurface characteristics of the study site. Permission to conduct the project was granted by the property owners, Cassina Garden Club, who also assisted in the study site selection and survey preparation. This GPR survey examines only a small portion of Gascoigne Bluff but it demonstrates the potential utility of this technique for mapping buried cultural resources in this environment. The project area consisted of a 40-meter north-south by 15 m east-west area that was situated just east of a picket fence that encloses the two tabby dwellings and yard garden, which are maintained by the Cassina Garden Club (Figure 1). The area selected for the GPR survey was a grassy area with a minor amount of shrubbery and one small hardwood tree. A tabby and cement walkway covered a minor portion of the sample block along its western edge. The topography of the sample block was nearly level, although some gentle relief was discerned.