Archaeological Investigations at a Proposed Road and the Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site, Gordon County

The Archaeological Investigations of the Proposed Road in the Resaca Battlefield State Historic Site, Gordon County 12/20/2005 as part of the Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division of Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources proposes construction of a new road at Resaca Battlefield Historic Site (Figure 1). DNR acquired a small tract near the I-75 interchange south of the State-owned property to serve as a visitor center site. DNR also obtained a 100' wide corridor that connects the visitor center tract with the larger property. The proposed road will lie within this corridor. A metal detector and shovel test investigation was conducted on December 20, 2005 by Historic Preservation Division Staff Archaeologist Ronnie Rogers and New Echota Site Manager David Gomez. Based on results of the survey, the proposed road will have no effect on significant archaeological resources. In mid-May of 1864, Resaca was the site of a major battle of the Atlanta Campaign. Union forces that had dug in along the uplands west of the flood plain of Camp Creek attacked Confederate forces that occupied the uplands east of the flood plain (Figure 2). After three days of battle, the Confederate army abandoned its position when part of the numerically superior Union army moved to outflank them and threaten their supply line. This was a tactic that would be repeated several times during the campaign. The battlefield was heavily impacted by construction of Interstate 75, which ran through both Union and Confederate positions; however, Camp Creek valley, where much of the battle was fought, remained intact and was acquired by the State to preserve and interpret as a historic site. In the fall of 2000, HPD archaeologists mapped Union and Confederate earthworks within the park using GPS receivers capable of sub-meter accuracy. Maps produced from the GPS data were used in development of the Interpretive Master Plan for Resaca Battlefield Historic Site. The visitor center for the park will be located at the extreme southeastern end of the park, close to the intersection of State Route 136 and Interstate 75. A road will lead from the visitor center area north to a parking area and trailhead in the main part of the park. The southern portion of the road (about 3/4 mile) will be new construction, and will tie in to an existing road that leads to the proposed trailhead parking area. The portion of the road that will be new construction crosses private property along a 100' wide corridor that has been acquired by the state, either by easement or ownership. The remainder of the new construction will be on property owned by the state. The December 20 survey was of the southernmost portion of the new construction area, the corridor across private property (Figure 3). On completion of this segment, DNR will be able to access the larger area. The field was almost level, with a drainage running from the interstate highway through the field parallel to the highway. There was standing water and ice in the drainage and in several low-lying areas across the field. There was aslight rise at the north end of the field near the DNR boundary. Landscaping was evident around the drainage ditch and along the DNR boundary. At the time of the survey, the private land (a hay field) had been cut. Grass was ca. 1 to 1'/2 foot high, and had been bent over, forming a mat about six inches thick. There was no surface visibility, and the thickness of the grass cover may have impacted the effectiveness of the metal detectorsurvey. It was uncertain exactly where the road would be constructed. The master plan map indicates that the road will lie close to the DOT right of way fence, but that area is low and frequently wet and includes the drainage ditch. The area immediately west of the ditch is on higher ground, and a white stake was visible adjacent to the west edge of the ditch. The ca. 0.8 hectare (1.8 acres) area surveyed included both a strip of high ground west of the ditch and the triangular area between the ditch and the DOT fence. The metal detector used for the survey was a Fisher model 1225-X. Transects were walked across the east/west direction spaced approximately two meters apart and the instrument was swept back and forth perpendicular to the direction of travel, resulting in ca. 100% coverage with some overlap along adjacent transects. A space approximately 1 meter wide and adjacent to the DOT and DNR fences was not surveyed due to interference by the fence. Twenty-five targets were detected. Of these, eight were aluminum cans or can fragments, two were wire nails, one was a fence staple, one was a foil "to go" ketchup pack, one was a metal bottle cap, one was a short length of fence wire, and one was unidentifiable rust, with no solid object present. None of these objects was mapped or collected. Drink cans were probably tossed from the nearby south bound exit ramp. It should be noted that cans that were not found on the surface had been mangled in the plow zone. The remaining targets were identified and collected, and GPS readings were taken using a Garmin 176 receiver, capable of 3 meter accuracy (Figure 3). In addition to these objects, a ca. 4' long piece of painted extruded metal, lay in the drainage ditch. One of the metal detector tests (GPS #28) was expanded and deepened to serve as ST 1. Two additional shovel tests were placed at ca. 15 meter intervals south of ST I on the high ground near the DNR fence, considered to be the most likely location within the survey area to find evidence of a prehistoric site. This area had been landscaped, probably when the drainage ditch was constructed. Water in the ditch was not moving, so it is probably run off from the interstate, rather than a natural flow. If that is the case, the ditch was probably cut during or after construction of the highway. Soil profiles did not show much variation while digging the metal detector targets. Soil profiles were similar for the shovel tests and consisted of 0-15 centimeters of yellowish brown clay loam over yellowish orange pebbly clay. Shovel test depths were ca. 45 cm. A small piece of coal was found in ST 29. Other than a fired bullet (Figure 4), none of the objects found could be related to the battle. The fence staple and wire nails were recovered from near the DOT fence. There is a power line pole at the NE corner of the survey area that could account for nuts and bolts, and at the time of the earthworks survey, there were at least two locations in the woods north of the survey area where farm machinery had been scrapped. The piece of metal pipe was about 14" long with wall thickness was'/4-3/8". One end was finished; the other was torch cut. The pipe had probably been ca. 6" inside diameter, but had been surveyed. This area has not been mowed, and briars and grass are shoulder-high. The road location should be closely cut and clearly marked so that an efficient survey can be performed. Also, while in the field, we encountered a survey crew marking the location of a gas line. Mr. Gomez asked them for identification, as they were working on DNR land, and he confirmed that they were contractors out of Michigan working for a local utility company. Mr. Gomez requested that the local company provide a map showing the location of the pipeline on DNR land, as neither he nor I was aware of its existence. The pipeline location may need to be considered when planning the route of the access road. Based on the results of this survey, construction of an access road within the surveyed corridor will have no effect on significant archaeological resources. The portion of the road corridor from the DNR property boundary north to the existing road to which it will connect remains to be surveyed after the vegetation has been cut back.