Archaeological Research at the Assitant Keeper's House, Tybee Lighthouse, Chatham County, Georgia

This report is an edited version of an earlier technical report that detailed the findings of an archaeological study conducted by Rocquemore Research, of Box Springs, Georgia, at the Tybee Lighthouse Museum for the Tybee Island Historical Society. As part of the ongoing restoration and preservation effort at the Tybee Lighthouse complex on the northern end of Tybee Island, Chatham County, Georgia, reconstruction of the Assistant Keeper's residence will involve ground disturbance beneath the existing wood frame structure. Visible brickwork evidence of an earlier building at this location may indicate that the standing building was constructed on portions of the foundations of the earlier building. This earlier building is suspected to be the pre-1880s Keeper's house, although the full range of its antiquity has not been established. Portions of the nearby lighthouse are known to date to the early 1770s and a nearby "Summer Kitchen" has been dated to circa 1812. Consequently, the area beneath the Assistant Keeper's residence was considered likely to contain archaeological deposits from the late 18th through late 19th centuries. Test excavations at two locations beneath the Assistant Keeper's dwelling, as well as other surface and near-surface explorations beneath this building, are described in this report. A view of the Assistant Keeper's house and an aerial view of the study area are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Figure 3 is a copy of John LeConte's 1837 nautical chart that shows the project location.