Phase I Archaeological Resources Survey of the Proposed State Route 156 Bridge Replacement Over Salacoa Creek, Gordon County, Georgia

Between November of 2017 and June of 2018, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), Inc. completed Phase I archaeological survey efforts in support of the Georgia Department of Transportation’s (GDOT) proposed State Route 156 (SR 156) bridge replacement over Salacoa Creek (PI No. 0013888) in Gordon County, Georgia. The bridge (ID# 129-0048-0) is part of GDOT’s statewide bridge replacement effort which would replace the existing SR 156 bridge over Salacoa Creek. The existing bridge is located approximately 0.5 mile east of the city of Red Bud and 6 miles northwest of the city of Ranger, Georgia. The total project length is approximately 0.86 mile (1.38 kilometers) with a typical section including two 12-foot travel lanes and 10-foot shoulders. The Area of Potential Effects (APE) for this project has been defined as the existing and proposed right-of-way (ROW) and all associated required easements within the project and construction limits. The existing ROW along the corridor varies up to 50 feet (ft) wide. The required ROW width needed for the proposed project will be a uniform 80 ft for the entire length of the project. In addition to the APE, a 100-ft width from the edge of the APE, known as the Expanded Survey Corridor (ESC), was also considered. The APE and ESC are collectively known as the survey area. This investigation was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (36 CFR 800).

Prior to the start of fieldwork, a review of the Georgia’s Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) and the Georgia Archaeological Site Files (GASF) databases was completed. These sources revealed that this portion of SR 156 has been the subject of at least two prior archaeological surveys conducted by Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) in support of a prior effort in 2003 to replace the SR 156 bridge over Salacoa Creek (GDOT Project BRST-0827[5]; PI No. 642390) (Patton and Gresham 2003). During SAS’s 2003 Phase I efforts, one previously recorded site (9GO50) was relocated, and one new site (9GO231) was identified. Both sites were recommended potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and investigated with Phase II testing. The results of the SAS’s 2003 Phase I and II investigations found that 9GO50 lacked significant data potential within the proposed APE of the project. Site 9GO231, however, was found to contain contributing eligible features and deposits within the proposed APE. Since 9GO231 could not be avoided, mitigation efforts were undertaken in 2008 (Benson et al. 2008). Data recovery at 9GO231 revealed Holocene sedimentation and Paleoindian period settlement. Although evidence for nearly every precontact period was represented in the recovered assemblage, 9GO231 was intensively utilized during the Late Archaic and Early Woodland periods. The results of the mitigation suggested that peoples settling 9GO231 during the Late Archaic and Early Woodland periods extensively used lithics for tools, cooking, food processing, and other utilitarian purposes (Benson et al. 2008). Implementation of this project was never started, and the current project is a reiteration of PI No. 642390.

The current survey focused on three goals: 1) to identify any previously unrecorded archaeological sites within the survey area; 2) to revisit and assess through close-interval testing the conditions and the data potential of both 9GO50 and 9GO231 within the survey area; and 3) to identify any new portions of 9GO50 or 9GO231 not previously identified within the survey area. In total, Phase I survey resulted in the excavation of 314 shovel tests. Deep auguring of shovel tests was conducted at 62 shovel tests, where depths nearing 180 cm below the surface (cmbs) were reached. Of the total number of excavated shovel tests, 299 were negative for the presence of cultural features or material, while 15 were positive. An additional 11 shovel tests were recorded as “No Dig” due to the presence of modern commercial development which prohibited subsurface testing. In lieu of shovel testing, the surrounding environment was subjected to visual inspection. No new archaeological sites were recorded, however field survey identified two Isolated Finds (IF). Survey near the previous limits of 9GO50 resulted in two positive shovel tests containing a total of four (n=4) Ridge and Valley chert flakes. No features were identified during the revisit of 9GO50 or within areas immediately adjacent to the previous site boundaries.  

The current survey has extended 9GO50’s overall southern boundary by 17 meters. Shovel testing within 9GO50 revealed a shallow deposit (<15 cmbs) of cultural material with clay substrates present at the surface at many locations. Modern development, grading, and filling activities have impacted the integrity of 9GO50 and only a few, non-diagnostic artifacts were identified; therefore, the site lacks significant data potential within the survey area. Since the site boundaries exist beyond the limits of the survey area, and the site has never been fully delineated, 9GO50 should still be considered unknown for the NRHP under Criterion D. Site 9GO50 should be considered an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) outside of the APE/ESC and orange barrier fencing (OBF) should be placed along the APE on both sides of SR 156 for the full length of the site’s unknown boundaries. 

The revisit to 9GO231 resulted in 11 shovel tests containing cultural material. A total of 65 artifacts consisting mainly of Ridge and Valley chert lithics were recovered from depths ranging from 0 to 120 cmbs. As the cultural deposit at Site 9GO231 is known to be deeply buried, sixty-two shovel tests located near Salacoa Creek, within and immediately surrounding the 9GO231, were augered to 180 cmbs. The recovered assemblage does not contain any diagnostic material and consists of relatively uniform lithic flakes and debitage. Additionally, no features either above or below ground were identified. As a result of the survey, the boundaries of 9GO231 have expanded 35 meters further west of SR 156. The results of the site revisit suggest that the primary deposit at 9GO231 is located east of the existing SR 156 corridor and below the bridge, as indicated in previous studies of the site (Benson et al. 2008; Patton and Gresham 2003). Based on the uniform, undiagnostic, mixed context nature of the recovered assemblage, and the lack of identified features, it appears the newly identified area of 9GO231, west of the SR 156 roadway, does not retain sufficient integrity and lacks significant data potential under Criterion D. Areas of 9GO231 east of SR 156 and directly below the bridge that were previously identified by SAS in 2003 and mitigated in 2008, however, remain intact. Based on the results of current and previous archaeological survey efforts, Site 9GO231 is still considered eligible for the NRHP under Criterion D, as significant cultural deposits associated with the site remain intact east of the SR 156 roadway and below the bridge. In regard to 9GO231, VHB recommends avoidance of the site east of SR 156 and below the bridge to the extent possible; however, given the location of the resource in relation to the existing bridge that would be replaced, complete avoidance is unlikely. Further efforts to minimize impacts to the resource are recommended as well. The proposed impacts to 9GO231 will be evaluated in a forthcoming assessment of effects document.