A Remote-Sensing Survey of the Proposed Ranger/Post Obstacle Course, Hunter Army Airfield

The following is a final report on the work done under a cooperative agreement Between Fort Stewart, Georgia and the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. The impetus for this study was the discovery of human remains during construction of elements of the Ranger/Post Obstacle Course. Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield cultural resource specialists developed a project, funded through the Legacy Resource Management Program, that could locate/identify grave pits before construction activities. This study was based upon the methodological assumption that remote sensing instrumentation developed within the field of high-resolution geophysics was the most efficacious means of achieving the project's goals. Analysis of geophysical data arrived at a representative sample of possible burial-like anomalies as well as those. anomalies that needed additional characterization. Excavations of 21 anomalies were carried out in September, 1995. The analysis of the geophysical data and excavation records suggest that suppositions about a historic cemetery or pauper burial ground are quite groundless. None of the artifacts recovered from the excavation units predate the beginning of the 20th century. No excavations were carried out under the treeline along Neal Boulevard as mechanical excavation would have done serious hann to the trees. Any future land modification under the tree line should be preceded by either careful hand excavation or the construction activities should be closely monitored by an archaeologist/forensic specialist.