Phase III Archaeological Data Recovery Mitigation of 9GO297

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) plans to realign State Road (SR) 225 in conjunction with the replacement of structurally deficient bridges located on SR 225 over New Town Creek and the Coosawattee River in Gordon County, Georgia. In accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and GDOT funded an archaeological survey to determine if any archaeological properties would be impacted by the proposed road construction and bridge replacement activities. Conducted in 2006-2007 by URS Corporation (Barse and Gill 2007), the Phase I survey identified four archaeological sites including 9GO297 (named the “Boat Ramp Site”), a multicomponent precontact site. Based on limited Phase II testing of 9GO297 conducted under the same contract, 9GO297 was determined to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) based on the presence of stratified and intact archaeological deposits and the potential for the site to yield data important to understanding prehistory. In consultation with the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), GDOT determined that the proposed transportation improvement activities will adversely effect site 9GO297, a prehistoric site eligible for listing in the NRHP.

The project and site 9GO297 are located within the boundaries of the New Echota National Historic Landmark and the New Echota Traditional Cultural Property, although 9GO297 is not a contributing resource of these properties. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that details mitigation measures for 9GO297 was developed and ratified on April 16, 2009 by the FHWA, GDOT, the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the State Parks and Historic Sites Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Historic Preservation Division of the DNR. As a member of Atkins Global’s team for the Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with GDOT, New South Associates were tasked to carry out the mitigation measures for 9GO297. The project was conducted under GDOT Master Contract TOOELARC080051 as Task Order #13, Project #BHF00-0151-01(006), PI #631570, and was assigned HP# 0400607-001 by the Georgia Historic Preservation Division.

The Area of Potential Effect (APE) for this data recovery consists of the area of 9GO297 located between the northern edge of the proposed right of way (ROW) and the existing SR 225 alignment on the south and between New Town Creek on the west and the Coosawattee River on the east, excluding the area of the boat ramp, parking lot, and power line corridor. For the purposes of this project, the area of land not formally contained within the site boundary but between the south edge of the required right of way and the power line adjacent to SR 225 was also included within the data recovery excavations as any related but unidentified remains were likely to be destroyed as a result of proposed project activities. This area investigated measures approximately 16,835 square meters (approximately 4.2 acres). The scope of work (SOW) for mitigating the adverse effects to 9GO297 called for data recovery excavations. This included conducting pre-field research, fieldwork, laboratory and data analysis, artifact curation tasks, and the preparation of a technical report detailing the findings of the investigation. In addition, members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation visited the site during the excavation. In compliance with Official Code of Georgia (OCGA) statute 12-3-52, a permit was obtained from the Historic Preservation Division of the DNR to conduct the excavation on the state-owned property (see Appendix H).

The data recovery excavation of 9GO297 involved both machine and hand excavation of approximately 702 square meters. Excavation involved shovel testing, machine excavation of blocks using a smooth-blade backhoe, and hand excavation of test units arranged in blocks. The investigation revealed that the site has been heavily impacted by post-depositional activities, including deforestation/clearing, agricultural plowing, the construction of a road running southeast-northwest through the site, the removal of soils from the southern portion for usage in the construction of the existing bridges and route of SR 225, the construction of the boat ramp, and the placement of fill atop parts of the site. Diagnostic artifacts from the site evidence Early Archaic, possible Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, Late Archaic-Early Woodland, Early Woodland, Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, and Late Mississippian artifacts. In addition, radiocarbon dates also indicate possible usage of the landform during the Early-Middle Mississippian time frame. North of the project APE and on the west side of New Town Creek, an area of the Calhoun Elks Club Golf Course was also surveyed and tested as an addendum, due to the need to relocate a portion of the golf course that falls within the road realignment corridor (Keith et al. 2012). The data is also included in this report and site analysis.