The Bobby Jones Expressway Extension: Archaeological Investigations at 9RI88 and 38AK741 Richmond County, Georgia and Aiken County, South Carolina

The Georgia and South Carolina Departments of Transportation, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), are constructing a segment of the Bobby Jones Expressway that crosses the Savannah River just downstream of Augusta, Georgia. Evaluation of this portion of the Bobby Jones Expressway Extension in Richmond County, Georgia and Aiken County, South Carolina (Bowen 1979; Ferguson and Widmer 1976) found that the project would possibly impact two potentially significant archaeological sites, 9RI88 and 38AK741. In 1986, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was executed between the FHWA, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) of Georgia and South Carolina to ensure that proper measures would be taken to offset adverse construction effects to these two archaeological sites, as required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 USC 470) and related regulations (i.e., Protection of Historic and Cultural Properties [36 CFR Part 800]). From October 1998 through March 1999, Brockington and Associates, Inc., conducted testing and data recovery at two sites along the proposed Bobby Jones Expressway Extension corridor. Investigations in South Carolina included an assessment of site 38AK741 and survey of a portion of the corridor which was realigned following the original archaeological survey. Located in a field along the edge of the Savannah River, site 38AK741 is a multiple component site with both prehistoric (Woodland and Mississippian) and historic (late eighteenth through early twentieth century) occupations. Assessment of the potential impacts to 38AK741 conclude that the eastward shift of the proposed project corridor has resulted in avoidance of the site core area. No intact or significant archaeological deposits were identified in the portion of the site within the revised corridor boundaries. Site 38AK741 is still considered potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), since significant deposits may be present outside of the area investigated. Survey of the realigned portion of the corridor determined that no additional archaeological sites are present. Site 98188 is located in an open field on the edge of a paleochannel of the Savannah River, just west of the Augusta Levee. Prior investigations at 9RI88 identified Late Archaic and Woodland components, as well as intact cultural features and midden deposits. Data recovery at 9RI88 yielded significant data on one of the earliest manifestations of the Late Archaic period in the middle Savannah River valley (i.e., the Paris Island phase). Radiocarbon dates indicate that the site was occupied between 3,600 and 2,900 BC, at which time the site was along a bluff overlooking the Savannah River. The radiocarbon dates and the site's artifact assemblage indicate that the Paris Island phase ranged from 3,300 to 2,900 BC, considerably earlier than indicated by Elliott et al. (1994). Data from 9RI88 also document the transition from the Middle Archaic preference for quartz as a lithic raw material to the Late Archaic focus on chert; a relatively high percentages of the chert is heat treated. The Late Archaic occupation at 9RI88 predates shellfish exploitation and faunal preservation was poor. During the Late Archaic, multiple households lived at 9RI88; ethnobotanical remains suggest the people were there during the late spring through early fall. The archaeological investigations conducted at 38AK741 and 9RI88 documented in this report comply with stipulations of the 1986 MOA. Results of testing at 38AK741 indicate no significant archaeological deposits will be affected by proposed highway construction. Sufficient significant data were recovered during investigations at 9RI88 to offset adverse construction effects on this site's Native American archaeological deposits. Archaeologists also identified an abandoned historic cemetery at 9RI88. Additional graves may be present in a wooded area within the project corridor. Georgia law (Official Code of Georgia Annotated [OCGA], 36-72-1, 1991) provides protection for historic cemeteries by requiring a cemetery disturbance permit from appropriate county authorities if preservation is not a feasible alternative. Based on investigation results, we recommend cultural resources clearance for the proposed project, with appropriate treatment (preservation and protection or respectful disinterment and reinterment) of the historic cemetery.