In early 2014 Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC) contracted with Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) to conduct a Phase I archeological survey of the proposed South Bainbridge ‑ Climax 230 kV transmission line in Decatur County, Georgia. The new transmission line will be about 16 km (10 mi) long and constructed within a 30m (100ft) right‑of‑way.
Twelve new archeological sites and one artifact occurrence were recorded by the survey. Four of the sites are prehistoric lithic scatters, five are prehistoric lithic and ceramic scatters, and three date to the late nineteenth to twentieth centuries. We recommend that one of the prehistoric sites (9DR230) is potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The remaining 11 sites are recommended as ineligible to the NRHP, or, if they extend outside of the APE the eligibility of the overall site is unknown, but the portion within the right‑of‑way is not eligible. Table 1 summarizes the archeological resources that were recorded by the survey.
Site 9DR230 is a prehistoric lithic and ceramic scatter located in the northern portion of the transmission line, extending into a Georgia Power Corporation right‑of‑way and westward, outside of the proposed additional right‑of‑way. This site produced more artifacts than the other prehistoric sites, which suggests that it was occupied longer, raising the possibility that preserved subsurface deposits and features are present. Thus, we recommend that 9DR230 is potentially eligible to the NRHP. It appears that no poles or structures will be installed on this site, but timber harvesting/clearing the right‑of‑way has the potential to damage this site. To avoid this, we recommend hand clearing the right‑of‑way and using mats to distribute the weight of vehicles used during construction. Finally, GTC should add the site to their Annual Archeological Site Monitoring Program.
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