Archaeological Investigations at the Dungeness Wharf Site and the Fort St. Andrews Site: Cumberland Island National Seashore, Camden County, Georgia

Severe site erosion caused by storm activity prompted the National Park Service to request archaeological investigations at two sites on Cumberland Island, in Camden County, Georgia. The Dungeness Wharf site (9CM 14), primarily a Mission Period aboriginal village, was located at the southern end of the island. The Fort St. Andrews site (9CM 113), an English colonial fortification, was perched on a high bluff at the island's northern end. Investigations at the Dungeness Wharf site consisted of a surface artifact collection on the eroding beach, followed by a series of shovel tests and 1 x2 meter excavation units along the top of the bluff. A total of 1,818 artifacts were identified. Bluff contour measurements revealed a loss of as much as 20 meters of land along the perimeter of the 650-meter long site within the past twenty-five years. Shovel tests produced the greatest concentrations of artifacts and shell within thirty meters of the current bluff edge. Sixteen excavation units revealed a relatively intact and undisturbed series of discontinuous shell middens containing Mission Period artifacts. The most abundant ceramic type, San Pedro grog-tempered plain, was interspersed by minor amounts of Altamaha/ San Marcos ware. Intriguing was the relatively large percentage of incised decorations among the Altamaha/ San Marcos pottery, an indication of a people perhaps less influenced by missions than were their counterparts who manufactured the grog-tempered ceramics. Two trash pits, a post hole, and a probable later historic pit were the only features encountered. The lack of evidence for substantial structures, coupled with the recovery of a small number of Spanish olive jar sherds, supported suggestions drawn by previous researchers that the mission itself may have been lost to erosion, or perhaps was located elsewhere. Nevertheless, the site contained potentially significant information regarding the lifeways surrounding an aboriginal village associated with the principal Spanish mission San Pedro de Mocama. Recommendations were to conduct additional excavations in areas containing the highest concentrations of cultural materials, and in the most immediate danger of imminent destruction (i.e., closest to the bluff edge). More intensive data recovery could provide valuable information regarding structural evidence, food procurement, and changes in settlement patterns over time. Investigations at the Fort St. Andrews site consisted of a surface artifact collection on the eroding beach, followed by a series of 45 shovel tests to determine the extent and nature of the site (Phase I survey). Both prehistoric and historic artifacts were recovered (n=436). The prehistoric artifacts (n=230) spanned most of the period of human history on the island, including Late Archaic fiber tempered, Satilla, Deptford, Swift Creek, Kelvin, Savannah/St. Marys, St. Johns, and San Pedro ceramics. Deptford pottery was the most abundant type found. Historic artifacts (n=206) were concentrated in the very northwest corner of the eroding bluff edge, and included eighteenth century ceramics among other general historic materials such as brick, tabby, nails, bottle glass, and tobacco pipe fragments. Some shovel tests along the bluff encountered shell midden as deep as 120 cm below surface, indicating intensive cultural activity in that area. A post-survey Ground Penetrating Radar investigation of the bluff edge corroborated the shovel testing results. Only about a 40x60 meter section of the Fort St. Andrews site is still potentially intact; the rest has probably succumbed to erosion by wind and waves. The intact portion, situated directly on the bluff edge, continues to experience severe active erosion as evidenced by recently fallen trees. Recommendations were to excavate the small remaining portion of the site before it is destroyed.