Phase I and Phase II Archaeological Survey and Testing of the Barbour Island Distribution Line Corridor

From April 12 to 17, 2013, Brockington and Associates, Inc. conducted an intensive Phase I archaeological survey and Phase II testing within the proposed Barbour Island Distribution Line corridor in McIntosh County, Georgia. This investigation was required by the US Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS) prior to installation of an electrical distribution line across a section of Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. The proposed project consists of the construction of an underground electrical line from Gould's Landing to Pirate's Point, extending southeastward the length of Pirate's Point. Propose ground disturbances include directional drilling at two locations to install the distribution line below the Barbour Island River, and trenching to the south to extend the distribution line to Barbour Island. The Area of Potential Effects (APE) is confined to the two 20-m wide drilling-hole areas and the 10-m wide, 540-m long corridor located between the southernmost drilling-hole and the southern tip of Pirate's Point. Archaeological investigations were carried out on behalf of Coastal Electric Cooperative of Midway, Georgia, in accordance with criteria defined under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (as amended), (PL 93-291), and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation revised 36 CFR Part 800 Regulations. Investigations included background research, historical research, and field investigations, which were used to identify potentially significant resources within the project's archaeological APE. Background research identified two previously recorded archaeological sites (9MC56 and 9MC506) within the project corridor. Four previously recorded archaeological sites are located within a one-mile radius of the project corridor, but are outside the APE; therefore, further management considerations of these four archaeological sites are unnecessary. Phase I archaeological survey consisted of pedestrian survey and a series of systematic shovel tests placed within the project corridor. Shovel tests were excavated on a 10-m grid within two 20-m diameter sections of project corridor, and aligned along a single transect within the northern 220 m of the 10-m wide project corridor on Pirate's Point. The southern 320 m of the corridor was surface inspected only due to the low narrow nature of the landform, presence of marsh grasses and salt-tolerant herbaceous plants, and lack of surface cultural materials. Investigators identified cultural materials within one previously recorded site (9MC506) during Phase I survey. Survey shovel tests within previously recorded Site 9MC56 near Gould's Landing identified no cultural materials. We conducted Phase II testing within the project corridor at both 9MC56 and 9MC506 to assure adequate coverage of these portions of the corridor.