Southern Research, Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc., has completed a cultural resources survey of the proposed 344 acre Hidden Creek Timber Sale, Chattahoochee National Forest, Floyd and Gordon Counties, Georgia. The goal of this cultural resources survey was to identify all potentially significant archaeological and historical resources within the project area and to evaluate the eligibility of the identified resources for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Fieldwork for this project was conducted from October 28th through November 7th, 2013. No extant structures are located anywhere within the current project area. During the cultural resources survey, we revisited one previously recorded archaeological site location (9FL328), confirmed that an archaeological site (9GO152) does not extend into the current survey area, and discovered four previously undocumented archaeological sites (9GO327 through 9GO330) and three isolated finds. Two of the isolated find consists of a single chert flake (IF928-22-1 and IF952-11-1) and one is a single bifacial flake tool (IF952-9-1), all Ridge and Valley Chert found in a shovel test. The archaeological sites are summarized below: Archaeological sites 9FL328 and 9GO327-329, as well as the three isolated finds are recommended not eligible for the NRHP. No further management consideration is warranted for these four sites and the isolated finds. Archaeological site 9GO330 is a dense surface and subsurface scatter of prehistoric chert debitage located on a low ridge in the western portion of Compartment 928, Stand 26 (Pay Unit 2). This site is located near a depression that has been tentatively identified as a sinkhole, and possibly an obstructed cave mouth entrance. Given the dense concentration of debitage near a potential cave entrance, we recommend this site unevaluated/potentially eligible for the NRHP. This site should be preserved and protected from earthmoving activities associated with the proposed Hidden Creek Timber Sale. If this strategy of avoidance and protection is not feasible, then additional archeological investigations should be undertaken to determine the nature and integrity of the prehistoric cultural deposits at the site.
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