An Archaeology Reconnaissance of Proposed Multiple Purpose and Floodwater Retarding Structures, Sallacoa Creek Area Watershed, Bartow, Cherokee, Gordon, and Pickens County Georgia

This report presents the results of an archaeological reconnaissance of historic and prehistoric sites at selected proposed multiple purpose structures and floodwater retarding structures within the Sallacoa Creek Area Watershed, Bartow, Cherokee, Gordon and Pickens Counties, Georgia. These investigations were funded under the provisions of a contractual agreement between the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Georgia College, and the United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. These investigations were carried out in two major segments. The field work at Structure 98 was carried out between May 15 and June 13, 1975, and a preliminary report on this one structure was submitted to the Soil Conservation Service on June 23, 1975. Field investigations at the remaining nine structures (30, 36, 38, 40, 45, 47, 71, 74 and 101) were undertaken between October 28 and November 26, 1975. In the intervening period between presentation of the Structure 98 preliminary report and the beginning of investigations at the other nine structures, similar investigations were carried out at other proposed structures within other watersheds. During that intervening period the final report of investigations of proposed structures within the Headwaters of the Chattooga River Watershed was prepared and presented to the Soil Conservation Service; and investigations, including preliminary reports for Structures 80 and 36, were conducted for the Soil Conservation Service at eighteen proposed structures within the Lower Little Tallapoosa River Watershed. Investigations of structures within these three watersheds were conducted in this manner as a result of informal requests from the Soil Conservation Service. The three contracts under which these investigations were funded neither stipulate nor require any such preliminary reports or segmented scheduling of investigations; nevertheless, these arrangements were made in order to cooperate with Soil Conservation Service construction priorities. The final results of all field and laboratory investigations of all ten structures within the Sallacoa Creek Area Watershed are presented in this report. The original contract specified that West Georgia College, in addition to the site and artifact descriptions, was to make recommendations and evaluations on the following subjects: 1) the potential eligibility of the surveyed sites for nomination to The National Register of Historic Places; 2) The probable impact of the proposed project on the archaeological and historic resources, and; 3) estimations of the costs necessary for the protection, preservation or recovery of the archaeological data. During the course of the fieldwork it became increasingly apparent that the basic pedestrian survey techniques specified in the original contract were inadequate for generating the types of data necessary for assessing the potential eligibility of the sites for nomination to The National Register of Historic Places. Due to the fact that no subsurface tests were called for nor executed (except in several instances), there was no or little data on the basic stratigraphy of the site, the possibility of subsurface features, or the extent of agricultural or erosional damage. Upon mutual agreement between the Soil Conservation Service and West Georgia College, it has been decided to term the field investigations, "An Archaeological Reconnaissance", not a survey. No recommendations will be made regarding the eligibility of any sites to The National Register of Historic Places. In substitution, recommendations will be made for the subsequent subsurface testing of each site. These tests should produce the additional data necessary for making the final recommendations of eligibility. Therefore, the final portions of the sections on each surveyed structure will include recommendations and evaluations on:1) The necessary subsurface testing programs; 2) An estimation of the general costs necessary to complete the subsequent tests, and; 3) The probable impact of the project on the sites. A detailed discussion of the recommended subsurface testing techniques is present in Chapter IV.