Final Report Archaeological Investigations of the Elisha Winn House Gwinnett County, Georgia

The limited archaeological investigation of the Elisha Winn House property was authorized by W. Lane Greene, Project Architect, in a letter dated November 5, 1980. That letter outlined the scope of services on this project as follows: Install four (4) 1'-0" x 4'-0" surface test units Conduct surface test probes in three (3) areas. Produce a minimum base map of the project site to locate main house structure and three ancillary outbuildings (no topography). Provide minimum laboratory and statistical treatment of any artifacts retrieved from test units. Produce a short narrative report describing the basic archaeological treatment of the project site, statement of findings and conclusions, and recommendations for additional treatment if indicated. That statement of level of effort was modified during an on-site meeting between SSI staff and W. Lane Greene on November 10. At that time the decision was made to pursue at least three 1' by 4' test units, and to dig the fourth only if the results of the other tests merited further investigation. The field work was initiated and completed on November 10, 1980, with a five person crew. Included among the crew members were Patrick H. Garrow, Principal Investigator; Thomas R. Wheaton, Field Director; and Bertram S. A. Herbert, Stephen Webb, and Maria Almodovar serving as Field Assistants. Thomas R. Wheaton supervised the artifact preparation and cartography aspects of the laboratory phase, and the artifact analysis was conducted by Patrick H. Garrow. The project report was prepared by Patrick H. Garrow. The test investigations conducted on the Elisha Winn House property were designed to meet very narrowly defined project goals. As such, this report should be treated as a preliminary statement on the archaeological resources present on the tract. Projects of this nature do have a value, despite the very narrowly defined project goals. Archaeological investigations are by their nature labor intensive and thus can be extremely expensive to conduct. A project of the type conducted at the Elisha Winn House property can be done quickly and cheaply, and can provide good data for planning any needed future work. At the same time, limited architectural questions can be addressed, and thus provide needed feedback for the project architect.