Phase I Archaeological Survey of Proposed Improvements at SR 53/Hog Mountain Road and Snows Mill Road, Oconee County, Georgia

Edwards-Pitman, Inc. (EP) conducted a Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project to construct a roundabout at the intersection of State Route (SR) 53/Hog Mountain Road and Snows Mill Road/Rocky Branch Road, Oconee County, Georgia (GDOT PI No. 0017185, HP No. 210310-012). The survey was completed in early January 2021 and was carried out for GDOT under a contract with Thomas & Hutton Engineering. The goal of survey was to locate and evaluate archaeological resources within the survey area in accordance with the Georgia Environmental Policy Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Design plans were incomplete at the time of the survey, thus the survey area for the proposed project includes all areas within the Environmental Survey Boundary (ESB) provided to EP by the project design engineers. The ESB measures approximately 556 meters (m) (1,825 feet [ft]) along SR 53/Hog Mountain Road with a width ranging from 91.4-100.6 m (300-330 ft), approximately 213.3 m (700 ft) along Snows Mill Road with a width of 91.4 m (300 ft), and 103.6 m (340 ft) along Rocky Branch Road with a width of 91.4 m (300 ft). The ESB measures approximately 8.57 hectares (ha) (21.2 acres [ac]) in area. The ESB was specifically designed to encompass all areas of existing and proposed right-of-way (ROW) and possible/foreseeable ground disturbance as a result of the current project. When design is complete, the project’s area of potential effect (APE) will likely be smaller than the ESB.

A review of records in the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF) prior to the Phase I archaeological survey indicated that six archaeological sites have been recorded within a 1 kilometer (km) (0.62 mile [mi]) radius, although none of these fall within the ESB. EP’s Phase I survey was conducted in accordance with GDOT’s Environmental Procedures Manual and the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologists’ (GCPA) guidelines for archaeological investigation (GDOT 2013; GCPA 2019) and included pedestrian survey and systematic shovel testing at 30 m (98.5 ft) intervals.

EP’s survey identified one previously unknown historic archaeological site, 9OC443, which lies partially within the ESB. Site 9OC443 is a late nineteenth/early twentieth century house site; no significant data potential was recognized in the investigated portion of the site, but its overall National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility under Criterion D remains unknown due to survey limits. It is recommended that the uninvestigated portions of 9OC443 beyond the ESB be established as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) to be protected from inadvertent impacts by orange barrier fencing (OBF).