A Phase I Archaeological Direct Effects Survey for the Proposed Chavers Cellular Tower in Floyd County, Georgia

On behalf of Trileaf Corporation (Trileaf), TerraXplorations, Inc. (TerraX) completed a Phase I archaeological direct effects survey for a proposed cellular tower in Floyd County, Georgia. This investigation was conducted in accordance with guidelines set forth by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Nationwide Programmatic Agreement regarding historic properties. A Phase I archaeological direct effects survey was performed at the proposed tower lease area and proposed access road locations in order to determine if any prehistoric or historic properties exist within the limits of the survey tract, and if so, to document and assess each based on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria. Based on Georgia Historic Preservation Division (GHPD) and FCC guidelines, the Area of Potential Effect (APE) was set as the total lease area, including the compound, access road, and easements (i.e. areas where ground disturbance will occur). The survey was performed over a duration of four hours on March 9, 2016 by Principal Investigator, Jonathan D. Lowrey, and archaeological field technician Anthony Cheiffo (Appendix A).

The proposed tower site is located in an unincorporated community approximately three miles southeast of Rome, Georgia. This location falls approximately 1,140 feet (ft.) northeast of the southern intersection of Shadowood Circle SE and Rockmart Road SE/Georgia State Route 101 in Floyd County, Georgia. The subject property can be found on the 1968 (Photorevised 1985) Rome South, Georgia USGS 7.5’ series topographic quadrangle (Figure 1). The lease area lies in a grass pasture at the brow of a gently sloping hill (Figures 2-6). The eastern half of the proposed access road is oriented generally north-south and is situated in a grass pasture that gently slopes to the southwest (Figure 7). The westernmost portion of the proposed access road is oriented east-west and follows an existing, unnamed gravel road (Figure 8). This portion of the access road contains the gravel road and is covered in mature pines and mixed hardwoods. The project APE includes a proposed 100-x-100-ft. (30.48-x-30.48-meter) lease area and a proposed access road measuring 856 ft. (260.9 m) in length by 30 ft. (9.1 m) in width. The proposed tower will be a lattice type constructed to a height of 225 ft. (68.6 m).