A Remote Sensing Survey of the Tybee Beach Renourishment Project, Chatham County, Georgia

The United States Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington and Savannah Districts are cooperating in the archaeological survey of a proposed beach renourishment and groin field construction area on a portion of Tybee Beach in Chatham County, Georgia. In order to determine the project's impact on underwater archaeological sites, the Savannah District determined that an archaeological survey would be required to locate, identify and assess the significance of any submerged cultural resources in the proposed project area. That survey was conducted by Tidewater Atlantic Research (TAR) of Washington, North Carolina, under the provisions of its current open ended agreement with the Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District. Fieldwork activities included a magnetic and acoustic remote sensing survey and a pedestrian survey of the beach during low tide. A total of nine targets and one wreck were identified during the investigation. An analysis of the remote sensing data indicated that seven of the targets were associated with beach protection measures or were generated by single ferrous objects such as an anchor, section of sheet pile or a length of pipe. Two of the targets, TI-01 and Tl08, generated magnetic signatures with characteristics that compared favorably with significant cultural resources. The wreck located during the pedestrian survey consisted of two sections of exposed vessel structure dating to the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. In the event that proposed project construction impacts the two anomalies or vessel remains, it is recommended that the material generating the signatures be identified and assessed and that the exposed vessel be recovered for documentation.