Phase I and Phase II Archaeological Evaluations for 23 "Occurences" Robins Air Force Base, Houston County, Georgia

Blanton and Reed (1987) identified 29 "occurrences" (0.1 through 0.9 and 0.11 through 0.30) during their extensive archeological survey on Robins Air Force Base (AFB); however, their report did not make clear whether these were merely isolated finds or actual archeological sites. The purpose of the current project was to relocate and evaluate those upland "occurrences" not previously evaluated and to conduct National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility testing on those "occurrences" found to be bona fide archeological sites. Four "occurrences" (0.25, 0.28, 0.29, and 0.30) of the original 29 "occurrences" reside in a floodplain setting and were excluded from the present investigation. Two "occurrences" (0.16 and 0.26) had been previously investigated. It was recommended that 0.16 be added to the 9Ht43-site area (Area A), resulting in the expansion of site 9Ht43. Following the investigation of 0.26, it was recommended that 0.26 be eliminated from the roster of cultural resources at Robins AFB. The remaining 23 "occurrences" were the focus of the present archeological investigation. Based on the results of the relocation and surveying portion of this project, 17 "occurrences" (0. 1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, 0.15, 0.17, 0.20, 0.22, 0.23, 0.24, and 0.27) were found not to be valid archeological sites. These 17 "occurrences" are considered isolated finds and are redesignated as such. It is recommended that these isolated finds be eliminated from the roster of cultural properties at Robins AFB. It is also recommended that a separate data layer be maintained in the Geographic Information System (GIS) to track isolated finds. The remaining six "occurrences" are bona fide archeological resources. Two of the six "occurrences" were found to be previously unidentified portions of existing archeological sites: 0.4 is a northeastern extension of the 9Ht30-site area, and 0.14 is an eastern extension of the 9Ht8-site area. The remaining four "occurrences" (0.6, 0.18, 0.19, and 0.21) are new, previously undocumented archeological sites and have been issued the Georgia Archaeological Site numbers 9Ht169, 9Ht170, 9Ht171, and 9Ht172, respectively. Testing was conducted at the four new sites (9Htl69, 9Htl70, 9Htl71, and 9Htl72) to assess the NRHP eligibility of each prehistoric cultural resource. Based on the results of this testing, only 9Ht 172, a prehistoric site with an intact late Early Woodland / early Middle Woodland component and possibly a Late Archaic component, is considered eligible for the NRHP under Criterion D.