Research Design and Proposal to Conduct Phase II Eligibility Assessments on Six Sites Within the Proposed Shoal Creek Reservoir, Henry County, Georgia

The research design and proposal which follows was developed as a testing strategy to asses the eligibility status of six prehistoric archaeological sites identified within the Shoal Creek Reservoir project area can be assessed for potential eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The reservoir is to cover 367 acres along a portion of the Shoal Creek Drainage within the Talmadge Farms property in southwest Henry County, located 1.0 miles southwest of the town of Lovejoy and 3.0 miles northwest of Hampton (Figure 1). Georgia State Highways 19 and 41 lie to the east and Panhandle and Lovejoy roads lie to the northwest and south, respectively. In 1989 a limited archaeological reconnaissance survey of the Shoal Creek Reservoir project area was carried out by Garrow & Associates, Inc. The field study identified four prehistoric sites and indicated a high potential for the presence of additional sites (Cobb 1989). An intensive Phase I archaeological survey of a proposed raw water reservoir in Henry County, Georgia was subsequently conducted by Garrow & Associates, Inc. of Atlanta for the Clayton County Water Authority in 1992. The results of the 1992 Phase I study identified seven previously unrecorded archaeological sites and 10 isolated occurances of artifacts (Rees 1992). The 1992 field work also relocated and evaluated the four sites recorded during the 1989 limited reconnaissance. As a result of the 1989 and 1992 studies, a total of 11 sites and 10 isolated occurances where identified within the floodpool of the proposed Shoal Creek Reservoir. Based upon the information gathered during the Phase I investigation, six of the sites located within the project area were recommended as being potentially eligible for inclusion in the NRHP and required Phase II testing in order to determine their eligibility status. Two of these six sites were first identified by Cobb (1989) and redefined by Rees (1992). The remaining four sites were identified by Rees during the Phase I survey in 1992. Based upon the information gathered from the analysis of the artifacts recovered the Phase I studies, the sites range chronologically from the Middle Archaic period (ca. 5,000 B.C.) to the Mississippian period (ca. A.D. 1100). This document is organized in the following manner. Chapter II presents the project overview, while Chapter III presents the project approach and research questions that will guide the Phase II investigation. The Phase II testing methods and laboratory procedures are discussed in detail in Chapter IV. Chapter IV also describes the reporting process and project deliverables. Garrow & Associates' corporate qualifications and staff assignments are presented in Chapter V. The proposal concludes with the references cited in the preparation of this document.