Archeological Survey, Testing, and Damage Assessment of the Lewis Mound and Village Site (9Bn39), Fort Stewart Military Reservation, Bryan County, Georgia

The LAMAR Institute conducted archeological survey and testing on a one hundred acre tract on the eastern portion of Fort Stewart Military Reservation in Bryan County, Georgia. The focus of the project was on the Lewis Mound and Village site (9BN39), a small burial mound that was first recorded on a reconnaissance level survey of the reservation in 1982 (Miller et al. 1983). The purpose for the testing was to determine the period of occupation of the Lewis Mound site; to delineate its spatial extent; to assess the damage that had been done to the site through logging, agriculture, and looting activities; and, finally, to make a definitive statement of eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places. The focus of the survey was on locating sites in the immediate area that may be related to 9BN39, but included the identification and documentation of any and all sites in the project area. Management information is presented in Table 1. The testing of site 9BN39 included detailed topographic mapping, shovel testing at 10 m intervals, and the excavation of a number of test pits (five 1 x 2 m trenches and three 2 x 2 m squares). The results of this testing demonstrate that the Lewis Mound and Village site contains relatively dense deposits from a number of broad cultural periods. Prehistoric components on the site range from the Late Archaic to Mississippian periods. The most substantial of these appears to date to the Savannah subperiod of the Mississippian, and it is this period to which the mound is tentatively assigned. The testing also identified a hitherto unrecognized historic component on the site which likely represents the remains of an eighteenth century home. The testing results demonstrate that site 9BN39 contains preserved features and artifact distribution patterns. Although the mound itself has been damaged by looting, these activities have not extended to the surrounding village area. Moreover, the site has been only minimally impacted by cultivation, logging, or military activities. The site has the potential to yield important information on prehistoric and early historic lifeways, and is recommended eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The survey resulted in the identification of three sites, all of which are prehistoric artifact scatters. The largest of these, site 9BN133, stretches approximately 200 m on a thin ridge to the west of the Lewis Mound site. Thirty-two of the 48 shovel tests on this site were positive. Artifact density was high in several of these tests, suggesting the possibility that the site was intensively occupied, and may therefore contain features such as postmolds, pits, and hearths. Artifact distribution patterns could also be preserved on the site. Prehistoric components on the site range from the Late Archaic to Middle Mississippian. Also present is a historic earthwork, possibly the remnants of a dam or causeway. As a possible outlying settlement associated with the Lewis Mound, site 9BN133 appears to have considerable research potential. Additional testing should be conducted to assess the nature and integrity of the deposits. Until such testing can be undertaken, we recommend the site potentially eligible to the National Register. The other two sites identified on the survey (9BN134 and 9BN135), while possibly also related to the Lewis Mound, are small and exhibit low artifact density. Instead of actual residences, these appear to have been the location of brief, specialized activities. They are unlikely to contain features, or to provide important, new information. As a result, these sites are recommended ineligible to the National Register.