An Intensive Archaeological Assessment Survey and Limited Site Excavation at the Dunham Marsh Plantatin Tract Bryan County, Georgia

In April 2005, Environmental Services, Inc. (ESI) performed an intensive cultural resource assessment survey and conducted limited site excavation at the Dunham Marsh Plantation property in Bryan County, Georgia, on behalf of Brookwood Properties, Inc; the property is slated for residential development. The goal of the survey was to locate, identify, delineate, and evaluate all cultural resources within the parcel, including prehistoric and historic archaeological sites, as well as historic structures. The cultural resource assessment survey included a pedestrian inspection combined with systematic shovel testing at 15, 30 and 90-meter intervals. Delineation shovel tests were dug at 1 0-meter intervals. As a result of the ESI survey, one prehistoric and four historic archaeological sites (9BN631- 9BN635) were recorded and four isolated finds (2 prehistoric and 2 historic) were documented. Recovered artifacts indicated that the property sustained most intensive occupation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with limited occupation during the Late Archaic, Woodland, and Historic Indian periods. During the survey, one site (9BN634) was encountered that warranted limited excavation in order to evaluate its National Register of Historic Places eligibility status. There are no structures on the tract that will be affected by the development, nor were there any structures over 50 years old within the surrounding area that would sustain visual or audible impact from the proposed undertaking. Based on the testing results, it was determined that each of the five sites and the four isolated finds contained limited artifact density, and lacked intact features and clear occupational strata. Furthermore, each of the four 19th/20th century sites contained only surface artifacts. As such, none of the sites or isolated finds exhibited characteristics that would make them eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. No further archaeological work is recommended within the Dunham Marsh Plantation property.