The Long Swamp site (9CK1) is a well‑known prehistoric and protohistoric site located on the Etowah River in Cherokee County, Georgia. It is situated on the north bank of the river, roughly two miles southeast of Ball Ground, and is currently bisected by State Route (SR) 372. The site was identified by Robert Wauchope (1966) in 1938, who subsequently led extensive excavations on the east side of what is now SR 372. He located the remains of a prehistoric mound and village that contained Early and Middle Woodland, Early through Late Mississippi, and Protohistoric period components. More recently, Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS) conducted a systematic survey of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) bridge replacement project's (GDOT Project BRST‑1002(10), P.I. No. 642400) Area of Potential Effect (APE), which included 9CK1 as Wauchope had defined it, as well as areas south, north, and west of the site. Based on the results of SAS's survey, additional areas of 9CK1 were identified to the north and west of the original site boundary. Following a redesign of the project's APE to avoid the presumed location of the Mississippian mound and structures east of SR 372, SAS conducted Phase II testing of 9CK1 on the west side of the highway. Based on the results of this work, portions of the site on the floodplain and terrace containing significant, intact deposits were recommended eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion D (Patton 2004:i, 8, 50).
SAS's investigations of the bridge replacement's APE, which consisted of surface reconnaissance, shovel testing, test unit excavation, and mechanical trenching, revealed 9CK1 to cover approximately 13 acres. The majority of this area is on the west side of SR 372. The site area that Wauchope (1966) examined on the east side included roughly five acres; SAS did not further investigate this portion of the site. However, site boundaries were only explored within the APE by SAS and the site area is likely much larger. Within the APE, SAS identified two locations, one on the terrace and one on the floodplain, where significant, intact deposits and cultural features, are located.
Based on the results of the Phase II investigations, the portion of 9CK1 within the APE, consisting of existing and proposed right‑of‑way (ROW) on the west side of SR 372, was slated for Phase III data recovery. EPEI was awarded the contract to conduct the data recovery investigations in 2007; fieldwork began in November of that year and was completed in May of 2008. The investigated portion of the site measures approximately 200 feet wide and 1000 feet long, for a total area of 200,000 square feet (18,580.6 square meters). Prior to excavation, the locational datum from the Phase II investigations was identified and the site grid reestablished. The entire portion of the site in the APE was cleared of vegetation preceding excavation. After the APE was cleared, test unit excavation was conducted to assess the site's stratigraphy. This work consisted of three 2‑x‑2 meter test units on the terrace and eight 2‑x‑2 meter test units on the floodplain. Concurrent with test unit excavation, metal detection, geophysical scans, and geomorphology studies were conducted. Following completion of the test unit excavations, the entire APE was mechanically stripped to expose features. Based on the information obtained during the test unit excavations, the plowzone was removed on the terrace to expose features that extended into the clay subsoil. In the floodplain, soils were removed to the base of the intact cultural zone, where features were identified during Phase II investigations (Patton 2004), and the level where features were exposed within the test units during the current study.
Multiple features were exposed on the terrace and floodplain by mechanical stripping. These features contained artifacts typically associated with the Napier, Woodstock, Late Etowah and Brewster phases. Historic period and modern artifacts were also recovered, but these were primarily associated with plowzone deposits on the terrace. Napier phase artifacts were confined to the floodplain portion of the APE and Woodstock artifacts were located primarily on the terrace, but a small number were found mixed into later Late Etowah phase contexts. The most significant finds include one definite Lamar culture structure and a possibly related second structure on the terrace and the remains of a Late Etowah phase palisaded village on the floodplain. Although the APE only encompassed the far western edge of the Late Etowah phase village, numerous features associated with it were excavated, including a domestic structure and associated work/activity area containing ancillary structures or work facilities, a palisade, a ditch that parallels the palisade, and numerous features that were found to contain refuse associated with a wide range of domestic activities.
Data recovered from EPEI's excavations revealed information relevant to a number of research issues important to Mississippi period life in the Etowah Valley, including site structure, subsistence strategy, refuse disposal patterning, architecture, and culture chronology. Perhaps the most important findings from this project are related to issues of subsistence and chronology. Analysis of faunal and botanical remains demonstrated that Late Etowah phase residents of Long Swamp exploited numerous plant and animal food resources and perhaps actively maintained an edible landscape where maize agriculture was supplemented by the harvesting of numerous wild plant species and the hunting and/or trapping of mammal, reptile, amphibian, fish, and bird species. Domestic activities took place both inside and outside of primary domestic structures. Radiocarbon dates obtained from Late Etowah phase contexts seem to call into question the currently accepted cultural chronology of the Mississippi period in the Etowah Valley. Six dates were obtained from radiometric assay of carbon samples. All six of these date ranges fall either mostly or entirely within what is currently understood as the Wilbanks phase. It seems fairly clear that the Early Mississippi period cultural sequence for the Etowah Valley needs to be adjusted, or at the very least critically re‑evaluated and tested through additional excavations at Late Etowah and early and late Wilbanks phase mound and village sites throughout the region.
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