Archaeological Investigation of The Potts' Tract Site (9-Mu-103), Carters Dam, Murray County, Georgia

The Potts' Tract site, 9-Mu-103, is located in southeast Murray County, Georgia, approximately 11 miles due south of Carters Dam. The site lies behind a proposed reregulation dam and will be inundated by the impounded waters of Coosawattee River and Talking Rock Creek when that dam is completed in 1972, The site, approximately 1500 feet west of Talking Rock Creek and 1000 feet north of State Highway no. 156, is located on alluvial land formerly owned by Dr. William Potts of Anniston, Alabama (Figure 1). 

Surface reconnaissance of the area behind the reregulation dam has been carried out continuously over the past several years by members of University of Georgia field crews excavating at the Sixtoe (9-Mu-100) and Bell Field (9-Mu-101) sites. One such reconnaissance late in 1967, resulted in the discovery of the Potts' Tract site. At that time, artifacts were encountered over a surface area two acres in extent, and scattered clumps of red clay were noted over a smaller area immediately to the south. Trenches excavated in both locations in February, 1968, showed that the surface artifact concentration was derived from a midden zone buried by upwards of two feet of recently deposited alluvium and that the red clay was derived from a thin layer of clay immediately below plow zone. At the time, the investigators speculated that the latter feature might represent the prepared floor of a late prehistoric town house. Analysis of artifacts obtained by these investigations indicated at least two occupations in the area, a Woodstock component and a later component in which both Lamar and Dallas pottery types occurred l. 

In 1968, the University of Georgia was to commence salvage investigations at the nearby Little Egypt site, 9-Mu-102, under contract with the National Park Service. By the first of the year, however, it had become evident that access to the site would not be obtained in time to carry out investigations during the summer field season. Federal Government acquisition of the land upon which Little Egypt is located had been delayed, and the owner was reportedly unwilling to allow excavation. Given this situation and the preliminary evaluation of the Potts' Tract site, Dr. A.R. Kelly, principal investigator for the University of Georgia salvage projects at Carters Dam, proposed that the National Park Service transfer funds allocated to Little Egypt to a new, one-year project at Potts' Tract. A contract amendment to this effect was negotiated. 

Field investigations at Potts' Tract were commenced on June 17, 1968, and terminated ten weeks later on August 23. The entire excavation was directed by the author with the assistance of Dr. Donald Smith of the Laboratory of Archaeology, University of Georgia. A University of Georgia Summer School course in archaeological field and laboratory techniques was offered by the author in conjunction with site investigations, and the enrolled students comprised the labor force for the project. 

Approximately three acres of land, including both the area of scattered red clay and the area of surface artifact concentration were leased from the tenant farmer who was cultivating this section of the Potts' property. This three-acre tract will hence forth be referred to as the site. 

A cement property marker South and West of the site was utilized as the site datum. This marker has an elevation of 682.5 feet above sea level, but for ease in calculating site elevations, it was assumed the arbitrary figure of 100 feet. A horizontal grid system, oriented to the cardinal directions, was established, and site datum was chosen to mark the intersection of the grid axes. A contour map with half-foot contour intervals was made of the entire three-acre site (Figure 2). The basic unit of investigation, as the five-foot square. Frequently though much larger areas were excavated as a unit. Artifacts and features were located by reference to the northeast corner stake of the square from which they were recovered. Features were plotted on excavation maps by means of alidade and plane table or through use of a hand tape and the grid system. Excavation was by natural or arbitrary levels depending upon each situation.

Excavation began with three test pits located in the south-west, east-central and northwest portions of the site. The first two pits encountered no occupation features and yielded virtually no artifacts. The third was an enlargement of the pit dug the preceding February for the purpose of determining the source of surface artifacts. This test pit was first expanded into an east-west trench ten feet wide and sixty feet long. Superimposed Woodstock and Barnett phase occupation zones and associated architectural features were encountered throughout. Eventually, portions of the trench were expanded southward a total of sixty-five feet in search of additional occupation features. Here, two Barnett phase houses, Structures 1 and 3, were located and completely excavated. This entire area of investigation. Between N415 and N480 and E45 and E110, has been designated Excavation Unit 1 (XU 1).

Toward the end of July, investigations were begun on the red clay feature near the south end of the site. Almost immediately it was apparent that the thin red clay stratum did not represent an aboriginal, man-made feature. Interest shifted, therefore, to the investigation of a fossil stream channel encountered beneath that stratum. Several test trenches were excavated in the vicinity of this channel, and ultimately one such trench encountered a Barnett phase house, Structure 2 south-west of the coordinate N200 E60. All excavations related to the investigation of this structure have been designated as Excavation Unit 2 (XU 2). The various trenches excavated in exploring the stream channel are referred to only by their location on the site grid.