An Intensive Archaeological Assessment of the Magnolia Grove Tract Lowndes Country, Georgia

In February and March 2005, Environmental Services, Inc. (ESI) performed an intensive cultural resource assessment survey of the Magnolia Grove property in Lowndes County, Georgia, on behalf of American Eagle Design Studio, LLC. The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, delineate, and evaluate all cultural resources within the parcel, including prehistoric and historic archaeological sites, as well as historic structures. Portions of the property have been previously surveyed by Tetra Tech, Inc., as discussed in this report. The cultural resource assessment survey included a pedestrian inspection combined with systematic shovel testing at 15, 30 and 90-meter intervals. Delineation shovel tests were dug at 10-meter intervals. As a result of the ESI survey, three prehistoric archaeological sites (9LW87-9LW89) were recorded and ten isolated finds (5 prehistoric and 5 historic) were documented. Two additional sites (9LW90 and 9LW9 1) were recorded by Tetra Tech, Inc. Recovered artifacts indicated that the property sustained most intensive occupation during the Early through Late Archaic with limited occupation during the Woodland Period. The two sites (9LW90 and 9LW91) recorded by Tetra Tech, Inc. and the three sites (9LW87-9LW89) recorded by ESI were subject to limited excavation and/or mechanical trenching to determine their eligibility status for the National Register of Historic Places. The results of the Tetra Tech, Inc. investigations are presented in Appendix B. None of the nearby houses appear over 50 years old, nor will they be affected by the development. Based on the testing results, it was determined that each of the five sites and all 10 of the isolated finds contained limited artifact density, lacked intact features, and were largely plow disturbed. As such, none of the sites or isolated finds exhibited characteristics that would National Register of Historic Places. No further archaeological work is recommended within the Magnolia Grove property.