Archaeological Survey of Winslow Crossing, Dekalb County, Georgia

By your request an archaeological survey of the property to be developed as Winslow Crossing located on Rock Springs and Panola Road, was conducted during the afternoons of Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 23. On April 15, the boundary of the property was delineated and the property was transversed in order to locate areas of possible archaeological and historical significance. An old road bed was examined for traces of cultural remains and during this inspection, some glass fragments and folk pottery fragments were found at the points on the map labeled X1 and X . A Lab analysis of these artifacts showed them to be alkaline glaze stoneware (c. 1900) and olive colored bottle glass (c. 1880-1920). On April 23, eight one foot-square, test excavations were dug to determine the presence of subsurface features. Tests, labeled T2 through T8 on the map were conducted in areas where examination of the soil surface was not possible. No archaeological material was found in these excavations. The test labeled T1 on the map was dug on an ungraded hilltop to locate any undisturbed features remaining in the area of street "B". No cultural remains were found here or on the surface of the adjacent slopes. In addition to these tests, two chimneys and foundation remains of an old house site, located on block 2, lot 6, were examined. One chimney was constructed of stone, the fireplace opening being supported by a lintel. The second chimney, part of a more recent structure, was formed by a stone hearth and fireplace topped by a brick chimney. Hand hewn wooden beams with pegs and machine sawed beams with square nails were also found on the site. Although of some historic interest, these structures are not judged to be of significance to merit their preservation. Recommendations: It is highly unusual that no prehistoric objects were found on such a large tract. Most of the property is covered by thick stands of pine trees with briar and honeysuckle undergrowth. To locate sites beneath this cover exclusively by test excavations would require such an investment of time and labor as to render the testing unfeasible. Therefore, it is recommended that the property be examined again by a qualified archaeologist when preliminary grading is begun.