Archaeological excavations at the Brasstown Valley sites (9To44, 9To45, and 9To49) yielded information on Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and Cherokee occupations of the Georgia Blue Ridge. Evaluative testing conducted as the preservation planning component of the project resulted in the in-place preservation of 9To44, the largest and most intensively occupied of the Brasstown Valley sites, as well as the cemetery areas of sites 9To45 and 9To48. The data recovery studies made use of broad scale machine stripping, which resulted in the exposure of nearly 24,000 square meters of site area, the largest area ever opened archaeologically in the Blue Ridge. This exposure resulted in the recording of 11,676 features primarily representing the Woodland, Mississippian, and Cherokee periods. Mapping of these features revealed structural patterns as well as evidence of palisades surrounding various village and/or household areas. Excavation of approximately 314 features provided context-specific data with which to interpret the ceramic chronology/cultural history of the region as well as the subsistence behaviors and patterns of the various time periods.
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