Archeological Survey of the Hammond Tract Oconee County, Georgia

Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. conducted an intensive archeological survey of a 91.7 ha (240 ac) tract in northwestern Oconee County, Georgia. The tract is part of the Hammond farm, which is an amalgamation of several smaller farms acquired by Irby and Cassie Hammond from the mid-1930s through the 1950s. The tract is to be leased by the Oconee County government for use as a wastewater spray irrigation facility. Proposed development includes construction of ponds and spraying of treated wastewater over fields and woodlands. The project tract was surveyed by a crew of four from March 18-21, 1997 under the supervision of R. Jerald Ledbetter. The project area consisted primarily of pasture which afforded generally poor surface exposure. In areas where surface exposure was not good (less than 25 percent) shovel tests were placed at 30 in intervals across landforrns that had the potential for containing archeological sites. The survey recorded twelve sites (Table 1) and five isolated occurrences. Occurrences are defined as isolated artifacts found on the surface or in a shovel test. The Harper Cemetery, which adjoins the tract, was inspected during our survey but was not recorded as a site since it lies outside of the project area. Also, numerous rock piles are scattered throughout the tract. They appeared to be of historic origin, and this was confirmed by owner Cecil Hammond, who recalls constructing most of them. The identified sites are equally divided between historic and prehistoric. Six represent the remains of late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century houses or farmsteads that can be correlated to house locations shown on postal and soil maps dating from 1905 to 1919 and aerial photographs dating between 1938 and 1995. Most of the houses have been nearly obliterated by land clearing and plowing, and in some cases consist of nothing more than an artifact scatter in a plowed field. Others retain remnants of house foundations and vegetation such as flowering plants or ornamental trees that are typically associated with house sites. The six prehistoric sites are primarily quartz lithic scatters. Only one site (90C241) produced aboriginal pottery. We recommend eleven of the twelve sites as not eligible for listing in the National Register because they lack the research potential that would qualify them under criterion d. They are too disturbed or contain deposits that are too sparse to warrant further study. One site, prehistoric quartz scatter 90C242, appears to have relatively intact deposits in moderately dense concentrations. It may have further research potential, and thus meet criterion d, but this can not be conclusively demonstrated at this level of survey. Therefore, we recommend 90C242 as potentially eligible for listing in the National Register. The site should be avoided by any construction/grading activity. If avoidance is not a practical option, the site should be archeologically tested to firmly establish its eligibility status. The site is a relatively small Archaic period quartz quarry/workshop site. It has recently been logged, but prior to that it was protected within mature woodlands throughout the twentieth century. The recent logging appears to have had minimal impact on the site and the area has been left fallow since that time. During the survey, a grid of shovel tests at 90C242 indicated a well defined area of high artifact density approximately 30 by 40 in horizontal extent. Artifacts were consistently found at depths of 5 to 25 cm. below surface. Artifact counts within the core area of the site ranged from 26 to 34 per shovel test. The artifact zone, which lay below a well-defined humus zone composed of a dark, organic rich loam, was a light brown sandy loam that gradually merged with a more compact loamy clay subsoil. There is the possibility that 90C242 has not been plowed and thus retains much of its original site patterning. 90C242 produced manufacturing debris and a few tools that are typical of quarry/workshop sites found in the Georgia Piedmont. Similar sites have been recorded in the region but most have been highly disturbed and minimal excavation has been conducted. Unlike other sites in the project area, 90C242 appears to have escaped two centuries of intensive agriculture. The significance of the site lies in the examination of fundamental techniques of raw material reduction, tool production and site patterning.