Preliminary Report Secondary Testing of Kings Bay Archaeological Sites

Current archeological investigations at Kings Bay, Camden County, Georgia, are being conducted by the University of Florida under contract number N00025-79-C-0012 with the U. S. Department of the Navy. Principal  investigator is Charles H. Fairbanks, Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Anthropology while Robin L. Smith, doctoral candidate in Anthropology, serves as co-principal investigator. Kings Bay is located on the mainland side of the intracoastal waterway in southeast Camden County, opposite Cumberland Island (see Figure 1). The project area is being developed as a submarine support base; extensive archeological testing is required because large areas of land along the coast will be used for the disposal of dredge spoil. The fieldwork described in this document began November 5th, 1979, one month after receipt of notice to proceed, and was completed April 28th, 1980.

The University of Florida has been involved in three previous studies at Kings Bay which have provided substantial amounts of information on the sites under consideration and their regional context. These studies include a survey and inventory. of resources (Smith 1978), testing and determination of effect at two sites endangered by construction (Johnson 1978), and monitoring of waterline construction through 9Cam171 and 9Cam172 (Yaros 1979). The Kings Bay archeological survey identified 34 aboriginal and historic sites, 27 of which were considered potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The aboriginal sites are primarily oyster shell middens deposited along high ground adjacent to the salt marsh. They range in age from the St. Simons phase, beginning about 1000 BC, to the Mission phase, ending about AD 1700. Historic sites include late 18th--early 19th century sugar and long-staple cotton plantations and small homesteads.