Addendum to Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Proposed US 78/SR 10 Widening from Whit Davis Road to Smokey Road, Clarke and Oglethorpe Counties, Georgia

On March 18 through 22, 2013, Edwards-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) conducted an ad­dendum Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed United States (US) 78/State Route (SR) 10 Widening from Whit Davis Road to Smokey Road project (Georgia Department of Transpor­tation [GDOT] Project No. STP00-0014-01[069], P.I. No. 132660, and HP No. 060830-007) in Clarke and Oglethorpe counties, Georgia. Formerly, EPEI’s archaeology project included both the US 78/SR 10 Widening and the US 78 Bypass around Crawford and Lexington (P.I. Nos. 132660 and 231910) addressed in a combined report for the two projects (Lewis et al. 2011). The current project includes only the US 78/SR 10 Widening from Whit Davis Road to Smokey Road (P.I. No. 132660); work on the bypass section (P.I. No. 231910) has been terminated. This addendum was undertaken due to changes to the project design. The proposed project would widen US 78/SR 10 from Whit Davis Road west to Smokey Road for a total length of 8.1 miles. The project would widen the existing two-lane road to four lanes, and includes approximately 2.7 miles of new loca­tion between Walter Sams Road and Arnoldsville Road.

A review of the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF) at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, found that two sites, 9CA33 and 9CA177, have portions within the additional area surveyed for this addendum Phase I study. In addition, addendum survey areas are adjacent to previously identified site 9CA114 and isolated finds (IF) 1 and 3 found during EPEI’s 2008 Phase I survey. Two previous surveys have been conducted within 1 kilometer of the current project, which include the original Phase I survey for US 78/SR 10 Widening from Whit Davis Road to Smokey Road and the US 78 Bypass around Crawford and Lexington, for which this report is an addendum (Lewis et al. 2011). The other survey was conducted by GDOT archaeologist Robert Entorf for GDOT Project No. FR-014-1(52), P.I. No. 121650 associated with SR 10 improvements at the western end of the project area (Entorf 1989).

The additional Phase I survey for the US 78/SR 10 Widening project resulted in the identification of one new archaeological site, 9OG593, the extension of the boundaries of previously recorded site 9CA33, and no changes to previously recorded site 9CA177. No new materials were found associated with previously identified site 9CA114 or IFs 1 and 3.

Site 9CA33 was previously recorded as a Middle Woodland (Cartersville) and Late Mississippian (Lamar) scatter. Addendum fieldwork identified Cartersville and Lamar artifacts on the north side of US 78/SR 10 within 30 meters of the previously recorded site boundaries of 9CA33, increasing the size of the site. Site 9CA33 had been recommended potentially eligible for the NRHP under Criterion D during EPEIs 2008 Phase I survey. Phase II evaluative testing is recommended for the portions of 9CA33 identified within the APE during the 2008 and 2013 surveys if the site cannot be avoided.

Site 9OG593 is a low density Late Mississippian lithic and ceramic scatter. Based on the low den­sity of artifacts recovered in the APE, the portion of 9OG593 in the APE is recommended as non-contributing to overall NRHP eligibility. Because the site could not be defined to the north beyond the project boundary, the overall NRHP recommendation for 9OG593 is unknown. No additional work is recommended for 9OG593.

Site 9CA177 was recorded as a historic artifact scatter and precontact ceramic isolate during the 2008 Phase I survey for the US 78/SR 10 Widening project (Lewis et al. 2011). No new materials were recovered during the 2013 survey. Since no new materials were recovered, the site is still recommended as non-contributing to NRHP eligibility, but unknown overall as definitive bounda­ries have not been established north of the APE. No additional work is recommended for 9CA177.

An area adjacent to previously recorded site 9CA114 was visited during the current addendum Phase I survey. The area examined is all in existing ROW ditch and pavement, and no shovel test­ing was possible. No survey has been conducted within the boundaries of 9CA114 and the original site form contains no eligibility recommendation; however, due to its proximity to the project, EPEI recommends that an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) be established at the edge of the APE in the vicinity of the site to protect any potential deposits associated with 9CA114. EPEI also recommends that ESAs be established along the APE limits adjacent to the unknown boundaries for sites 9CA33, 9CA177, and 9OG593.