Archeological Survey of a Proposed Gravity Sewer Line and Land Application System, McDuffie County, Georgia Project No. HP99083 l-005

Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc., completed an archeological survey of a proposed gravity sewer line and associated land application system in McDuffie County, Georgia. The work was conducted for the McDuffie County Board of Commissioners, through the engineering firm of Chasman and Associates, Inc. The goals of the survey were to locate, delineate, describe and evaluate archeological sites in the area of potential effect for the project. Site evaluations were made in terms of their eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places.

The tract that includes proposed land application system is located a few kilometers north of Thomson, west of US 78/SR 17 and north of Stagecoach Road. The parcel, which encompasses an area of roughly 21.5 ha (53 ac), is bordered to the south and west by existing spray fields. Most of the tract had been clearcut and replanted in pines prior to our survey, which afforded excellent ground surface visibility. Only a small portion of the parcel was still wooded.

The proposed sewer line right-of-way, which measures about 9.0 km (5.6 mi) in total length but less than 10 m (32.8 feet) wide, includes a variety of land use types. The line begins in the city of Thomson, where it runs east and northeast through a number of yards, vacant lots, and industrial areas before joining Cobbham Road (SR 150). It runs northeast along the east side of Cobbham Road through the suburbs of Thomson, which consist of a mixture of yards, woods, and pasture. Just south of the intersection of Cobbham Road and Interstate 20, the line diverges from the road, following the north side of Germany Creek east before turning north to follow a small tributary stream. The line crosses below Interstate 20, but continues to follow the same tributary north and then west before again intersecting Cobbham Road, at which point our survey ended.

The survey resulted in the identification of 14 archeological sites and three artifact occurrences (Table 1 ). The 14 sites include seven prehistoric lithic scatters, four historic era house sites, one historic era artifact scatter, and two sites that combine prehistoric lithic scatters with historic era artifact scatters. One of the latter also includes a historic era cemetery. 

Six of the 14 sites are recommended ineligible to the National Register of Historic Places, due to their poor research potential or lack of integrity or both. We recommend that the eligibility of an additional seven sites is unknown, because only a small portion of these sites were investigated on the survey and the limits of the sites are therefore unknown. However, we also recommend that the portions of these sites falling within the area of potential effect for the project do not contribute to the eligibility of the sites.

The remaining site, which is designated as 9MF899, is recommended potentially eligible to the National Register. This site incorporates a prehistoric lithic scatter, a historic artifact scatter, and a historic cemetery. Most of the site has been clearcut, and now retains little integrity. This has most severely impacted the prehistoric lithic scatter and historic artifact scatter. The cemetery, which lies primarily within a cluster of trees at the north end of the site, is reasonably intact. We noted approximately 32 probable graves, some of which are marked by fieldstone and others only by depressions. Many more graves are likely present. We are unable to assess the age or significance of the site based on the current evidence. However, it seems possible that the cemetery is very old, given the proximity of the site to the eighteenth-century town of Wrightsboro.