Limited Phase II Test Excavations at 9CF17 and 9CF71, Located Within the Proposed Broxton Rocks Mitigation Bank, Coffee County, Georgia

Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc. conducted limited Phase II test excavations at two archaeological sites, 9CF17 and 9CF71, located within a proposed wetlands mitigation bank near the Ocmulgee River in Coffee County, Georgia for Plum Creek Timber Company in September of 2005. Adverse effects on the two archaeological sites will be limited to those associated with the removal of a raised dirt road. The road removal is necessary to ensure proper drainage. The purpose of the limited Phase II investigation was to gather data sufficient to make a determination of eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The project was conducted in order to comply with the cultural resource requirements associated with a U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) permit application (#2003-12210) under the authority of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulation 36 CFR Part 800 (Protection of Historic Properties), as amended. The research for this project was done in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation (Federal Register Vol. 48, No. 190, pp. 44716-44742), including: Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Archeological Documentation and the Secretary of the Interior's Guidelines for Archeological Documentation; the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division's Archaeological Assessment Reports: Guidelines and Components, and the Georgia Council of Professional Archaeologist's Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Surveys. A scope of work was developed in consultation with U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Archaeologist David Crampton, who approved the final scope via email. Background research was conducted prior to entering the field and consisted of a review of the relevant archaeological literature, interviews with archaeologists Frankie Snow and Nancy White, and examination of existing collections from both sites which are curated at the South Georgia College in Douglas, Georgia. Both sites were recorded originally by archaeologist Frankie Snow who conducted surface collections over a period of several years during the 1970s. Snow also excavated a burial from 9CF17 that was exposed by erosion and later conducted a salvage excavation of an elliptical arrangement of mussel shells and faunal bone that he interpreted as representing a Spanish Mission-period aboriginal dwelling. The collection from 9CF 17 includes over 3000 ceramic sherds, (fiber-tempered, Deptford Check Stamped, Swift Creek Complicated Stamped, Ocmulgee Cord Marked, Lamar Incised and Complicated Stamped, and San Marcos Simple Stamped, Check Stamped, and Complicated Stamped), a small but exceptionally wellpreserved sample of faunal remains (bone and freshwater mussel shell), a large number of projectile points and lithic waste flakes, several pipe fragments, steatite fragments, clay pipe fragments, a few glass beads, and a small copper ornament. The collection from 9CF71 is much smaller and consists of a few sherds (fiber-tempered, cord-marked), a concave-base projectile point, and some waste flakes. Both sites are located on sandy ridges in the floodplain of the Ocmulgee River near Snipesville, Georgia. Outcrops of poor grade chert and silicified sandstone are present along a bluff to the east of 9CF17. During 16 field days, a crew of four archaeologists excavated 298 shovel tests at 20-m intervals across both sites, visually inspected the ground surface for any exposed artifacts or features, and excavated six 1-x-2-m test units (four at 9CF17 and two at 9CF71). The results indicate that 9CF17 contains intact archaeological deposits dating from the Kirk phase of the Early Archaic period through the Ocmulgee phase of the Late Woodland period. A possible historic Mission period component also was identified. The site is considered eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places because of the potential for important information related to prehistoric settlement patterns, site function, raw material use, and mobility patterns. Archaeological site 9CF71 was found to contain very few artifacts within the recorded site area. No features or midden staining were encountered. This site does not appear to meet the eligibility criteria for listing on the NRHP.