Reconnaissance-Level Archaeological Survey of Approximately 212hA (523 Acres) At Panola Mountain State Conservation Park

Parks, Recreation, and Historic Sites Division (PHS) of Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources requested that the Office of the State Archaeologist, housed in the Historic Preservation Division of Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources provide information about archaeological resources on three tracts of land at Panola Mountain State Conservation Park. All three tracts are located in Rockdale County. The total area is ca. 523 acres. PHS requested the information for planning needs. A reconnaissance-level archaeological survey was conducted on October 20 and 21, 2004. Reconnaissance surveys are not intended to locate all the sites within an area, but are designed to sample environments within the survey area to determine what types of sites are present and which settings are most likely to contain sites. Reconnaissance surveys may also identify areas that are unlikely to contain sites due to topography or disturbances. Data obtained through reconnaissance is useful for planning purposes. This report includes the Southerness and Alexander tracts and the northern tract. The floodplain portion of the northern tract is scheduled for construction of a bird sanctuary that will consist of ponds, food plots, and trails. Archaeological evaluation of the proposed 30 acre bird sanctuary has been addressed in a separate report, which is included in this report as Appendix C. Survey results and recommendations of the Bird Sanctuary report will be included in this report. The survey recorded four sites within the survey areas and recorded the location of a cemetery that was pointed out by park staff on park property outside the current survey area. In addition, the survey identified the golf course as a low probability area for discovery of significant sites due to disturbance and also identified the bottomland portion of the proposed bird sanctuary as a low probability area due to frequent inundation and poor drainage. Sites discovered included a 20th century farmstead, two prehistoric artifact scatters, and a rock pile site.