Archaeological Survey of GDOT Proposed Widening of US80/SR26 from Bull River to Lazaretto Creek, Chatham County, Georgia

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has proposed a project to widen US 80/SR 26 from just west of Bull River to just east of Lazaretto Creek in Chatham County, Georgia. The proposed project will widen the existing roadway to four lanes, widen the existing bridges and construct two additional bridges over Bull River and Lazaretto Creek. In order to identify potentially significant cultural resources in the proposed project area, GDOT contracted with Tidewater Atlantic Research, Inc. (TAR) of Washington, North Carolina to conduct a pedestrian and submerged remote sensing survey of those areas to be impacted by projected related activities. The work performed consisted of a background literature review, a pedestrian archaeological survey, a magnetic survey of the tidal marshes and a remote sensing survey of the two bridge crossings. Fieldwork activities were carried out between 1 - 5 June 1999. Analysis of the data collected during the field research identified no potentially significant cultural resources in the construction impact area. The remote sensing survey of the two bridge crossings revealed one target in the Bull River survey area. That target, BR-01, contained signature characteristics suggestive of modern material such as an anchor, pipe, cable or other small debris. The pedestrian and remote sensing survey of the tidal marsh between the two crossings revealed no cultural resources within that section of the project area. Subsurface testing of three hammock areas within the marshes also identified no exposed and/or buried cultural resources. The final two areas tested, the west bank of Bull River and the east bank of Lazaretto Creek, are relic landforms and have a high potential for containing significant buried cultural resources. However, testing revealed that both right-of-way areas have been highly impacted by past road improvements and other construction activities. All shovel tests revealed deep layers of fill and associated modern artifacts. Though two fragments of prehistoric ceramics were found, one Deptford check-stamped and one Refuge punctated, both were from disturbed contexts. Shovel tests excavated on 1.5m (5 foot) radials from the two prehistoric tests revealed no additional material that may have provided evidence of a prehistoric site being masked by modern intrusions. As a consequence of these results, no further investigation is recommended for the proposed project.