Archaeological Mitigation at the 17A Derelict Vessel Site on Back River, Chatham County, Georgia

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) plans to construct a new Highway 17 bridge over Back River in Chatham County north of Savannah, Georgia. Plans for new bridge construction indicate that on-site activity could damage or destroy the remains of a derelict vessel identified as the 17A Wreck. That vessel lies on the south bank of Back River immediately north of the extant Highway 17 Bridge. To ensure that design and construction data associated the 17A Wreck will not be destroyed by the proposed project, GDOT issued a task order for a Phase III investigation of the wreck site to Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan (PBS&J) of Atlanta, Georgia. The task order included provisions for excavation and documentation of the surviving wreck structure. The mitigation investigation was carried out by personnel from Tidewater Atlantic Research of Washington, North Carolina under terms of an agreement with PBS&J. Project fieldwork was carried out during April 2008. Data from the investigation was analyzed and developed into drawings and descriptions of the surviving hull remains. Both a literature survey and an examination of historical records was carried out in conjunction with the archaeological investigation to support a typological and vessel specific wreck identification. Based on the archaeological and historical research the GA BR 17 derelict appears to be a mid to late nineteenth century bark (barque) of approximately 375 to 450 tons. The types of wood employed in construction suggest that the vessel was built in northern Maine or perhaps in Nova Scotia or Newfoundland. A lumber hatch and watertight construction of the bilge ceiling indicate that the vessel was employed in the lumber trade but also carried water sensitive cargos such as guano, phosphate, rice or salt. A brief article in the 26 October 1893 Savannah Morning News confirmed that a fire destroyed an "old wreck" near the Back River entrance to Planter's Cut. The GA BR 17 derelict is the only vessel in that vicinity and it was burned at the site. The Phase III historical and archaeological investigation carried out by TAR recorded sufficient design and construction data to mitigate any adverse impacts to the derelict associated with construction of a new Highway 17 Bridge over Back River.