Archeological Survey of the Proposed Bridge Replacement at SR 20 over Big Cotton Indian Creek, Henry County, Georgia

The survey described here was designed to locate and evaluate archeological sites in the area of a Henry County bridge replacement project proposed by the Georgia Department of Transportation. The proposed project would replace the State Route 20 bridge over Big Cotton Indian Creek, about a mile east-southeast of Kelleytown, Georgia. Portions of five archeological sites (9HY315, 9HY316, 9HY317, 9HY318, and 9HY319) were found within the corridor of proposed project. Four of these site segments were produced during the historic era and have been severely compromised by erosion, intentional destruction (razing of structures), or are so recent as to be of no archeological significance. The fifth site segment (part of site 9HY315) is a scatter of stone debitage and pottery fragments produced during the Woodland or Mississippian periods of the prehistoric era. This pottery and lithic scatter has been severely compromised by erosion, cultivation, and grading; its poor preservation and apparent lack of diagnostic artifacts lead to the recommendation that it, too, lacks archeological significance. Although no determinations of significance could be made for whole sites-due to the limitations of survey within a narrow project corridor-we determined that none of the identified site segments would contribute to NRHP eligibility of their respective sites. As a result of this determination, we recommend that no significant archeological resources exist within the proposed project corridor. Regarding such resources, we suggest the project be allowed to proceed as planned within the surveyed corridor.