Archeological Assessment of Navigator System for Hurricane Evacuation, Southeast Georgia

The archeological assessment included consultation with the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Archeological Site Files, and a field inspection of each location. According to GDOT records, all of 1-95 from the Florida border north to U.S. 17 in Bryan County has been surveyed in conjunction with the proposed widening and reconstruction of the interstate. No existing or eligible National Register archeological resources were located within the projects' area of potential effect. Five of the NaviGAtor devices are within this previously surveyed area.The site file search was conducted in advance of the field work, and revealed that only one archeological site has been recorded within any of the project areas. Located on a prominent bluff overlooking the Altamaha River estuary just west of Darien, site 9MC372 was first recorded by Anne Yentch of Armstrong State College. This is a multicomponent site that contained prehistoric shell middens (Late Archaic, Middle Woodland, Mississippian), a prehistoric burial, Colonial period artifacts, and portions of Sidon Plantation, dating to the antebellum period. In addition, two antebellum and postbellum cemeteries are associated, located north of SR 251 and west of 1-95. Subsequent to several phases of archeological investigations, including the excavation of the prehistoric and historic burials, most of the site was destroyed by development (Magnolia Bluffs Factory Shops, gas stations, fast food restaurants). Georgia Department of Transportation archeologists report that semi-intact portions of the site are adjacent to the southbound ramps to 1-95, but that the area between the ramps and the interstate has been totally disturbed by construction. For the NaviGAtor project, a traffic counter (device no. 20) is proposed at a spot "west of 1-95. " Based on the information provided by the DOT, there would be no effect to 9MC372 if the traffic counter was installed between the access ramps and 1-95.In mid-February, each of the project locations was visited by Gordon Martin, staff archeologist. He photographed each spot and made observations using a hand-held tape recorder. It is important to note that all of the proposed improvements will be within the existing rights-ofway for these roads. Due to the amount of disturbance associated with road construction and subsequent development, no archeological sites were found. Shovel testing along SR 251, adjacent to site 9MC372, encountered deep fill. It is concluded, therefore, that installing these devices will have no effect to any archeological resources on or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places provided that the devices are placed within the existing right-of-way, as planned.