Phase II Evaluative Testing at Site 9CH1199

In April 2014, Garrett Machine, Inc. contracted with Brockington and Associates, Inc. to conduct Phase II archaeological testing of Site 9CH1199, located in Chatham County, Georgia. The goal of this study was to evaluate Site 9CH 1199 in terms of eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and provide management recommendations. The investigation was conducted as a permit requirement pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended). The study was conducted by personnel qualified under the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards ( 36 CPR Part 61-Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation). The proposed undertaking by Garrett Machine, Inc. (of Garden City, Georgia) consists of construction of an access road into the Garrett Warehousing tract, in anticipation of future development. Specific disruptions would involve clearing, grading, road construction, and road ditches. The proposed construction prompted a cultural resources survey by Brockington in 2008 {Sweeney 2008), which identified Site 9CH 1199 and recommended it not eligible for the NRHP. A review of this survey in 2013 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Savannah District, and concurred by Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) (Anderson-Cordova 2013) resulted in recommendations for additional testing at Site 9CH 1199 to determine eligibility. Both SHPO and USACE requested Phase II testing of 9CH 1199 prior to initiation of a Programmatic Agreement {PA) concerning the Garrett Warehousing tract (Hendrix 2013). Phase II archaeological testing at Site 9CH 1199 was accomplished by conducting background research, completing field excavations to collect artifact samples and examine the potential for intact archaeological deposits, and assessing the potential for the site to address topics regarding past lifeways. Background investigations consisted of an examination of archaeological site forms and previous reports associated with 9CH1199, as well as an examination of historic documents and other information located at the Chatham County courthouse and other local repositories. The investigations were accomplished to assist in developing a prehistoric and historic context for the study area, and to help interpret the historic period component identified during field investigations. Phase II field testing at 9CH 1199 consisted of a metal detector sweep and the excavation of one 1-by-2 meter (m) test unit and two 1-by-1-m test units in targeted areas to examine site integrity, cultural components, and stratigraphy. These efforts resulted in the identification of an early twentieth century well construction pit (Feature 601), a recent looters pit (Feature 602), and recovery of 429 historic artifacts. The metal detector sweep recovered 21 non-iron or large iron artifacts, and recorded two separate concentrations of small iron targets (possible nail clouds). One of the possible nail clouds centered around and within 20 m of Feature 601 at the site. The other nail cloud, a 30-m diameter area, centered around approximately five scattered bricks on the ground surface located approximately 40 m to the northeast, outside of the original site area. This outlying nail cloud was incorporated as part of the site in an expanded site boundary, but was not further investigated because it was situated outside the current development project's Area of Potential Effect (APE). As a result of metal detecting, site boundaries were extended from an original 30-by- 45-m area, to an expanded 75-by-100-m area. The historic artifacts recovered during Phase II testing appeared to represent two distinct periods of occupation: an earlier, late eighteenth/early nineteenth century small dwelling or camp, and a later, late nineteenth/ early twentieth century small dwelling, outbuilding, or activity area. However, clarity of the cultural periods is blurred by a lack of structural features and mixing of diagnostic artifacts within levels. The component to be subjected to specific research questions, the late eighteenth/ early nineteenth century component, lacked clarity and integrity, and no features whatsoever from that period were identified. The expanded portion of the site included an approximately 30-m diameter area that was determined to contain surface bricks and a possible nail cloud. Because this area lies outside of the development project's APE, it was not further investigated; thus, the research potential and NRHP eligibility of Site 9CH 1199 as a whole remains unknown. Within the portion of the site subjected to subsurface investigations (approximately 100m by 45 m, including the APE), neither of the two historic components appears considerable, and the late eighteenth/ early nineteenth century component especially lacks clarity or integrity. The possibility of further significant research within this examined portion of the site appears unlikely. Additional fieldwork within the 100-by-45-m investigated portion of 9CH1199 and the current project's APE is unlikely to provide significant and substantial amounts of data that can be used to address pertinent research questions regarding historic occupations in the region. Therefore, we recommend that that the proposed undertaking will not have an adverse effect on the portion of the site located within the project's APE. We recommend archaeological clearance for the entire portion of the site situated within the project's APE; no further management considerations within this portion of 9CH 1199 are warranted.