Archaeological Data Recovery at 9ME357 Muscogee technology Park, Columbus Georgia

In September of 2001, Southern Research conducted data recovery at Site 9Me357 for the City of Columbus, Georgia. Located on the Midland 7.5 minute USGS topographic quadrangle, the site is situated on a ridge nose which terminates above the floodplain of Bull Creek (Figure I). Originally located on Fort Benning property, Site 9Me357 is part of a land tract which was swapped with the City of Columbus. The City of Columbus has proposed to develop this area as an industrial park under the title Muscogee Technology Park. Site 9Me357 was originally identified in 1991 by Southeastern Archeological Services (Benson and Gresham 1994). The survey identified components dating to the Middle Archaic- Late Archaic, Late Archaic, Gulf Formational, and possibly the Mississippian period. They recommended the site as potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) based on its potential to contribute significant data concerning Late Archaic- Gulf Formational cultural chronology (Benson and Gresham 1994). The site was tested in 1995 by Brockington and Associates (Gardner et al. 1995). Testing data indicated the presence of an intact Late Archaic- Gulf Formational horizon in one test unit (202), and possibly other vertically and horizontally stratified cultural deposits. Based on the site 's potential to yield valuable information about the Late Archaic- Gulf Formational and possibly Historic Creek occupations, it was recommended eligible for the NRHP at the local level of significance under Criterion D (Gardner et al. 1995). The Georgia State Historic Preservation Division (HPD), the US Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) concurred with the NRHP recommendations. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between Fort Benning, the HPD, and ACHP (with concurrence by the City of Columbus and consulting Native American tribes), was composed and agreed upon. The MOA called for avoidance of the site or mitigation of adverse impacts prior to land development. Because the site area could not be avoided by future proposed land development, data recovery was the chosen option. A data recovery plan developed by Brockington and Associates, Inc., with minor revisions suggested by Southern Research, was used by Columbus' engineering consultant, Jordan, Jones, and Goulding as a scope of work. The revised plan called for the excavation of shovel tests on a 10 meter grid (at locations which had not been shovel tested during the testing phase) and the excavation of five 2 x 2 meter test units. In addition to the planned excavation amount, an additional 2 x 2 m unit was excavated at the site. As a result of data recovery efforts, 24 square meters of test units and approximately 25 square meters of shovel tests were excavated. This represents approximately 0.6 percent of the total site area (4,850 square meters). Data recovery in 2001 identified Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Early Woodland, and Historic Creek components. Although testing (Gardner et al. 1995) indicated an intact chronostratigraphy at the site, the current investigation found that artifacts from discrete cultural components have been mixed and inverted. The Late Archaic component was found to be the most substantial at the site, yielding mixed fiber and sand tempered ceramics and numerous stemmed PPKs. Early Woodland remains were closely associated with some of the Late Archaic materials. The association of the fiber and sand tempered ware with the Early Woodland remains may indicate a transitional Late Archaic- Early Woodland/Gulf Formational component.