Phase II Archaeological Testing of Nine Sites Granite Hill Tract

From August 6 to August 24, 2007, Brockington and Associates, Inc. conducted archaeological testing at nine sites on the Granite Hill tract in Hancock County, Georgia (Figures 1 and 2). This work for conducted for Rinker Materials Corp. in compliance with Section 404 of the National Clean Water Act and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. These sites consisted of four historic period house sites and five prehistoric sites (Table 1). The purpose of the testing was to determine if the four historic period house sites were originally slave cabins, or if they represent late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century tenant houses, and to determine if any of the nine sites are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). These sites were first recorded in August of 2006 during a cultural resources survey of the Granite Hill tract and were recommended potentially eligible for the NRHP. This recommendation was based on the findings of 30meter-interval shovel testing and limited close-interval shovel testing. Archaeological testing of the nine sites included additional close-interval shovel testing to confirm site boundaries and to better define artifact concentration within the sites. After close-interval shovel testing, two to four 1-meter-by-I-meter units were excavated in areas that contained higher artifact densities or in areas near surface cultural features, such as foundation remnants, chimney, or refuse piles. As a result of archaeological testing, the nine sites are recommended not eligible for the NRHP.