Archaeological Survey and Testing for the Proposed Replacement of the SR 100 Bridge over the coosa River, Floyd County, Georgia

The survey described here was designed to locate and evaluate archeological sites in the area of a Floyd County bridge replacement project proposed by the Georgia Department of Transportation, at the crossing of State Route 100 over the Coosa River about 9 km (12 mi) west of Rome. The area of potential effect (APE) for this project was defined for the purposes of investigation as a corridor 1853 m (6080 ft) long, ending at the intersection of SR 100 with SR 20 in the town of Coosa, Georgia, and 46 m (150 ft) in width. The corridor's width extends to the west 30.5 m (100 ft) from the existing centerline, or about 15 m (50 ft) from the proposed centerline, and about 15 m (50 ft) to the east from the existing centerline. The survey confirmed the existence of three known prehistoric era archeological sites within the project area (9FL174, 9FL30/159, and 9FL29), located two additional prehistoric era sites (9FL427 and 9FL428), and recovered only scant evidence of historic era activity. None of the prehistoric era site segments located within the APE south of the Coosa River (9FL29, 9FL30/159, 9FL427, and 9FL428) contain significant archeological deposits that would contribute to NRHP eligibility. The site 9FL30/159 segment contains nondiagnostic artifacts in graded, cultivated contexts unlikely to have preserved features. The site 9FL427 segment contains sparse, shallow deposits that probably date to the Early or Middle Archaic period, but are unlikely to contain cultural features. The 9FL428 and 9FL29 site segments both contain sparse, highly disturbed deposits that yielded no diagnostic artifacts and are insignificant for archeological research. However, the segment of site 9FL174 that falls within the APE - and virtually covers the entire project area north of the Coosa River - contains significant archeological deposits that make t eligible to the NRHP. We therefore recommend that the significant portions of the site, undisturbed areas east of SR 100 within 140 m (460 ft) of the Coosa River and west of SR 100 within 80 m (262 ft) of the river, should be avoided during the proposed bridge replacement. If avoidance is not possible, data recovery should be performed at site 9FL174 to mitigate any adverse effects that would result from the bridge replacement. Because of project redesign to elimiate effects to the site east of SR 100, we recommend that the project would create adverse effects to significant deposits only to the west of the highway. The area in which mitigation is recommended therefore includes the APE west of SR 100 between the existing fly ash driveway and Test Unit 1 (from ca. 30 m to 80 m [98 ft to 262 ft] north of the Coosa River).