Archeological Survey of the Greensboro Bypass Corridor Greene County, Georgia

This report documents the results of a Phase I archeological survey of a proposed alignment for the Greensboro Bypass in Greene County, Georgia. The Georgia Department of Transportation wishes to reduce the traffic congestion that now exists because Highway 44 passes through the center of Greensboro. One aspect of the planning and design process, required by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, is to locate archeological sites in the proposed area of potential effect, assess each site's significance in terms of its eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and assess the project effects on sites determined eligible to the National Register. The alignment begins south of Greensboro on Georgia Highway 44 then runs around the eastern side of the city to rejoin the same road again which at that point represents the combined routes of SR 44, SR 12 and US 278. The proposed alignment crosses two major roads known as Veazey Road (CR 191) and Highway 15 (SR 15). The estimated length is 3.2 miles (5.15 km) and the proposed right-of-way is 68.6 m (225 ft) wide. The total area surveyed by Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) was approximately 90 acres The archeological survey of the area of potential effect (APE) was conducted by two veteran field technicians during the period of mid-January and the first week in February 2006. Additional field investigation was conducted by the project director and project historian William G. Moffat. A total of 22 person-days was allotted for the field work. The APE consisted of the maximum width of required right-of-way or construction easement along the project length. The APE for the corridor to be surveyed was clearly shown on project aerial photo maps provided by the Georgia Department of Transportation. The center line had been previously staked and the surveyor's cut lines and many of their stakes remained visible at the time of the survey. Copies of the aerial photographs showing the proposed alignment (scale of 1" = 200') guided the survey. The crew marked the location of all shovel tests, archeological sites, isolated artifacts, and natural features on these photographs and enlarged copies of the USGS topographic map. The archeological survey consisted of two archeologists walking the APE looking for artifacts, surface features or other indicators of sites and excavating shovel tests where there was not adequate surface exposure (< 25 percent). All exposed ground surfaces were inspected and shovel tests were excavated at 30 m intervals along the route, generally in three transects. Being primarily wooded or in pasture, surface exposure was limited in many areas. We excavated 166 non-site exploratory shovel tests and another 241 shovel tests on sites and the one artifact occurrence. An examination of the Greensboro quadrangle map at the Georgia Site Files showed that no archeological sites had been previously recorded directly in the project corridor. However, 60 are recorded within 5 km of the project corridor. Our review of the literature suggested that prehistoric sites should be relatively common since part of the corridor follows a major drainage. Early to mid-twentieth century maps and aerial photographs showed that as many as six structures once existed in or near the proposed corridor prior to the mid-twentieth century. These are potential archeological sites and were noted on our project maps to alert the field archeologists. We recorded 15 archeological sites and one artifact occurrence within the survey boundaries (Figure 1). Table 1 provides key information about each site. The recorded sites consist primarily of prehistoric pottery scatters. Some of those prehistoric pottery scatters represent probable habitation sites or farmsteads. Two sites were identified by twentieth century artifacts, and four sites contained late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century historic artifacts in addition to prehistoric material. We also recorded one artifact occurrence (isolated artifacts that are not sites), that consisted of a single piece of prehistoric pottery found in a shovel test. The location of Occurrence 1 is also shown on Figure 1. We believe that six of the 15 sites have research potential, (i.e., they have the potential to produce information that may make them eligible for listing in the NRHP), but additional work (testing) is required to confirm this assessment. Nearly all of these sites have Middle Woodland or Late Mississippian (Lamar) components. Based on the types of prehistoric ceramics found during the survey, it appears that most of these sites date to the Middle Woodland Cartersville or Early Swift Creek period (200 B.C. to A.D. 600) and the Late Mississippian Lamar period (ca. A.D. 1530 - 1650). Based on site size and artifact density, at least five sites appear to be typical Lamar farmsteads (9GE2376, 9GE2380, 9GE2381, 9GE2382, and 9GE2385). A number of similar farmsteads have been excavated in recent years in Greene and surrounding counties and most contain structural features (round and rectangular houses), trash pits, and burials. The Woodland component sites (9GE2376, 9GE2379, and 9GE2381) are characterized by lower artifact densities but they could still retain features and important artifact information. Four of these sites (9GE2376, 9GE2379, 9GE2382, and 9GE2385) also produced preserved historic period surface features (primarily chimney mounds). These components, which date to the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, may also retain research potential. A higher site density was expected for the central and southern portion of the corridor because of the close proximity to a major tributary of Richland Creek. Past research in Greene County has shown that nearly every slightly elevated landform above the creek should be expected to contain a prehistoric site. Also, previous research has shown that this portion of the Oconee River Valley is one of the richest archeological regions in Georgia. Greene County alone has one of the highest numbers of recorded archeological sites in the state. The lower site density in the northern portion of the corridor reflects the expected decrease in prehistoric settlement based on higher elevation, greater distance to permanent water sources, and the lower quality of soil types. The nine sites recommended ineligible for listing in the NRHP are characterized by poor integrity or lack meaningful research potential. If concurrence is granted by the regulatory agencies involved, no additional work will be required for these sites.