Archaeological Mitigation of Site 9CE1036 for Fort benning Military Reservation, In Chattahoochee County, Georgia

In 2009, the Department of the Army at Fort Benning Military Reservation requested a technical proposal for the archaeological mitigation (Phase III) of 9CE1036 in Chattahoochee County, Georgia. Proposed construction of the Good Hope Maneuver Area (Fort Benning Project Number 69668) as a part of the installation's transformation to meet the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAG) Act of 1995 and other Army initiatives will destroy the site. Panamerican Consultants, Inc. (PCI) performed the archival research, data recovery fieldwork, and laboratory processes related to the Phase III mitigation of 9CE1036 between September 14 and November 5, 2009. All work was conducted in compliance with Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, with regulations implementing this legislation (36 CFR Part 800-Protection of Historic Properties), specific National Register Bulletin guidelines (e.g., Guidelines for Evaluating and Registering Cemeteries and Burial Places), the Secretary of Interior's Guidelines for Evaluation and Documentation, and with standards set by the Georgia Historic Preservation Division, Department of Natural Resources. Previous investigations related to this project included Phase I survey work by both PCI (Jackson et al. 1997) and Southern Research, Inc. (Elliott et al. 1999). The Phase II testing was performed by PCI (Carruth et al. 2008). Based on the results of the Phase III investigation, the site represents a large, multi-use site that was occupied from the Terminal Archaic to possibly the Historic Creek time periods. A light nineteenth and twentieth century artifact scatter is also present, presumably related to Good Hope Cemetery (9CE1564). This site measures approximately 450-x-320 m and is located on a narrow to broad ridge and corresponding slope. An unnamed spring, a tributary of Cany Creek is located just north of the north-central portion of the site. The southern periphery of the site has been significantly impacted by past logging or military activities. The interior portion of the site also has a network of graded roads and as mentioned, a historic cemetery. Even though the area suffered from previous disturbances, PCI recovered cultural materials that were in intact stratigraphic layers. Several features were also documented. The report of PCI's mitigation of 9CE1036 is presented in the following chapters. Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the project area and discusses past investigations at 9CE1036. Chapter 2 contains information concerning the past and present environmental conditions at the site. Chapter 3 contains a description of the field methods used during the mitigation and a review of the research design. Chapter 4 details the laboratory methods used during artifact analysis, provides a description of the artifacts recovered during the project, as well as an overall analysis of the material recovered at 9CE1036. Chapter 5 contains the results of the fieldwork and interpretations of for 9CE1036. Chapter 6 contains a specialized analysis of the artifacts recovered during the excavations at 9CE1036, as well as an applied cultural history of the site. Chapter 7 concludes the report with an interpretive synopsis of PCI's findings and recommendations. Appendix A is the Material Recovered Table. Appendix B contains the revised copy of the Georgia State Site File Form. Appendix C contains the Research Design developed for the project. Appendix D is the scope of work for this project and, lastly, Appendix E contains the curriculum vitae of key personnel.