The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (D R) plans to maintain 3.2 miles of existing firebreaks within the state-owned Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area in Screven County, Georgia (Figure I and Figure 2). The proposed project is also within the 2,686-acre National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) boundary for Brier Creek Battlefield (9SN254). Because the Battle of Brier Creek occurred during the 18th century, it is assumed that artifacts and features associated with the National Register Period of Significance have not undergone the time necessary to become deeply buried deposits. Firebreaks can disturb soils between 5 to 20 centimeters below surface (cmbs) along linear strips that range from 2 to 15 feet wide (0.6 to 4.6 meters). Bladed machinery is used to remove flammable vegetation at the roots from the ground surface of the firebreak, which can displace soils up to a meter from their original provenience, impacting archaeological sites. This document is a report of a metal detecting and pedestrian Phase I archaeological survey along the project's area of potential effect (APE), which is a 1.5-meter-wide lane along the centerline of each firebreak, that took place between February 16 and February 22, 2021. This survey was done in accordance with the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists' Georgia Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Surveys (2019). This report does not include shovel testing or site delineation in its methodology.
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