Cultural Resources Survey and Evaluation of a Proposed New Location Highway Segment and Coosa River Bridge, Floyd County, Georgia

Archaeological survey and evaluation of a proposed highway corridor in Floyd County, Georgia, was conducted by Brockington and Associates, Inc., during December 1992 and January 1993. The proposed corridor is 1.48 miles long by 300 feet wide and crosses the Coosa River approximately 7 miles southwest of Rome, Georgia. The work was conducted under the direction of the Georgia Department of Transportation, in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Survey and evaluation methods consisted of background research and field investigations. State site records indicated the presence of five previously recorded archaeological sites within or adjacent to the project corridor. These sites were originally recorded during preliminary survey by Georgia Department of Transportation archaeologists. Field survey involved pedestrian coverage (i.e., screened shovel testing and visual inspection of exposed ground surface) of the entire length of the proposed corridor at 30 meter intervals. Site evaluation consisted of the excavation of 15 meter interval shovel tests and formal test units to define site areas vertically and horizontally and to determine site integrity. Eight archaeological sites and two isolated finds were recorded/revisited during the current survey. Four sites (9FL203, 9FL204, 9FL206, and 9FL207) are recommended eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Two of these sites, 9FL203 and 9FL206, will require mitigation of the adverse effects of highway/bridge construction. The remaining eligible sites, 9FL204 and 9FL207, are located outside of the project corridor (i.e., the area of effect) and will not be affected by the proposed construction. Four sites (9FL205, 9FL221, 9FL223, and 9FL222) and Isolated Finds I and 2 are not considered to be significant and are recommended not eligible for the NRHP. No additional archaeological investigations are recommended at these sites. A church site and associated cemetery were also encountered during the survey. The remains of Fellowship Baptist Church and Cemetery are located outside of the project corridor and will not be affected by the proposed highway construction.