Archaeological Investigations at the Academy Creek Water Pollution Control Plant

Archaeological investigations by Water and Air Research, Inc. (WAR) at the Academy Creek Water Pollution Control Plant were conducted for three. purposes:. 1. Investigation of the possible location of the southern lock of the Brunswick-Altamaha Canal. 2. Investigation of canal construction methods and dimensions, and. 3. Mitigation of project impact on the historic dump. The Brunswick-Altamaha Canal southern locks are not located in the adjacent canal section west of the Brunswick Water Pollution Control Plant. This has been documented by seven backhoe trenches and substantial documentary research. The southernmost trench (No. 1) revealed additional data on actual tow path construction techniques. The western side of backhoe trench No. 2 further documented the disturbed nature of the southern end of the historic dump area. The five eastern trenches revealed evidence of extensive filling west of the plant and a relict shoreline. Three l0x10 foot (3-meter square) test units were located and excavated by hand within the Brunswick historic dump. Each successive test unit was excavated based on the contract requirements and field interpretations by the principal investigator and the supervising archaeologists. Test unit No. I was placed in the previously identified area of highest surface cultural material concentrations, and where the high ground did not appear to have been recently disturbed. Lower elevations and tidal flats had been extensively looted by bottle collectors, limiting the area of test unit placement. Our excavations revealed two major layers of deposition. The upper level, although it contains the same kind and quantity of material as the lower level, is spoil or overburden deposited when a recent ditch was excavated west of the Brunswick-Altamaha Canal sometime between 1930 and 1951. Test unit No. 2 was placed in the dump area previously identified by a surface deposit of oyster shell, and 1920 to 1930 surface historic refuse. The exposed shell midden and the apparently undisturbed natural nature of the lower strata on the west bank of the previously mentioned 1930 to 1951 ditch, led to placement of test unit No. 2 on the west edge of the midden. This location documented the midden as a surface deposit located on top of the recent historic Brunswick city dump. Again, as with test unit No.1, this excavation was quite deep (1 meter), revealing 2 layers of extensive dump deposits. The top 40 centimeters are again spoil from the 1930 to 1951 ditch. Based on the above information, test unit No.3 was excavated in the dump as far away from the recent ditch as possible, avoiding the associated disturbance and spoil deposits. Test unit No. 3 revealed a normal dump profile. All cultural materials were catalogued and analyzed. As a result of this analysis, the dump has been dated to the period between 1918 and 1940. It is composed of general household refuse, with occasional homogeneous deposits such as a bottle lense in test unit No. 1 and brick in test unit. No. 3 which may represent unique collection and deposition activities. The materials appear to be from the working class residences, as few luxury items or expensive ceramics and glasswares are represented. The large number of soft drink bottles may indicate a young population demographically. These bottles also strongly reflect the cultural pattern of the deep south in the early 20th century. The proposed site expansion will result in filling and grading of the canal and dump area. The canal has already been seriously disturbed by earlier construction and is in a deteriorated state between T Street and Academy Creek. Better preserved sections exist north of T Street and south of the plant. This project has documented the canal and its construction in the project area. Further archaeological work on the canal does not appear to be warranted in this area. The dump has also been disturbed by construction activities and bottle hunters. A sufficiently large sample was obtained to answer basic research questions, and will be curated for possible future research, including faunal analysis. In addition, dump deposition has been documented by this project; therefore no further testing is recommended. The possibility exists that large scale clearing and excavation at the site will uncover small areas of undisturbed original ground surface which could hold additional cultural resources. At this time, mitigation of such potential findings is not recommended.