An archaeological survey of the eastern portion of Elbert County, Georgia, was conducted in 1969 by the Department of Anthropology of the University of Georgia for the National Park Service. The purpose of this survey was to locate sites of archaeological significance within the area of the proposed Richard B. Russell Dam. The survey extended from the location of the proposed dam on the Savannah River upstream to the Hartwell Reservoir and included areas along Beaverdam Creek, the Van Creeks, and Coldwater Creek below the 500- foot contour line. A total of thirty- six sites, most of which were multicomponent, were recorded in this survey. Cultural materials indicated occupations ranging from the Archaic period to the Mississippian period (Lamar). A number of the sites were apparently lithic workshops (Hutto 1970 ).
Sites Eb 85 and Eb 86, both mound sites from which Savannah II ceramics were collected, were considered to be the most significant of the sites in the survey area. It was these two sites which were the focus of the 1971 field season directed by the late Dr. Joseph R. Caldwell, then professor in the Department of Anthropology, the University of Georgia.
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