Limited data recovery investigations were conducted on a portion of site 9GE922 during the month of February, 1999 by field archeologists with Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. A portion of the predominantly late Mississippian Lamar site was to be impacted by the construction of a subdivision road for Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee. SAS had previously defined the site as an extensive pottery scatter that covered an area of approximately 130 by 350 m. That scatter included two discrete areas of pottery concentration interpreted as the locations of two discrete Lamar farmsteads (Ledbetter 1998). The two habitation areas appeared to be separated by a distance of approximately 150 m but a sparse scatter of Lamar pottery extended between the two areas. Pottery recovered during earlier site testing indicates that the two habitation areas were not occupied concurrently. The larger habitation near the ridge crest appears to be Dyar phase while the smaller habitation area located in the northwestern part of the site is later. Reynolds designed the road corridor to be placed to the northwest of the larger southernmost habitation location. The low density of pottery in the area of the proposed road was thought to have been disturbed by plowing and slope wash. The site area was investigated by the excavation of backhoe trenches with follow-up monitoring of the machine stripping of the road corridor. The results of the SAS investigations confirmed that subsoil-intruding features were not present in the portion of the site impacted by the road construction. Reynolds Plantation has agreed to set aside the larger Lamar farmstead area as a green space that will not be developed. The second Lamar habitation area actually lies on property that is not owned by Reynolds Plantation. The present owner of that tract of land has been informed of the significance of the site area. This preliminary report is being prepared for the use of Reynolds Plantation and is not meant to be a compliance document. The first part of the report represents the results of the SAS investigations. The second part of the report contains a copy of the research design that was prepared for several Lamar sites investigated at the same time as 9GE922. The research design provides context for the investigation and also provides background information for previous work conducted on the site.
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