Archaeological Testing of Sites 9GE552, 9GE1649, 9GE1660, 9GE1661 and 9GE1662 on Reynolds Plantation, Greene County, Georgia

This report documents the results of Phase II archaeological testing on five sites on the Horseshoe Bend tract in Greene County, Georgia. This work was sponsored by Reynolds Plantation, a golf and residential community, located on present-day Lake Oconee in Green and Putnam Counties, Georgia. Testing was necessary because Reynolds Plantation, as owner of the property, planned to develop the tract as house lots overlooking the lake. Southeastern Archaeological Services, Inc. (SAS), conducted fieldwork in early 2003 under the direction of the principal investigator. Funding for the completion of the project and a final report was provided in 2014.

The Horseshoe Bend project area is located in southwestern Greene County, Georgia, on the north side of the Oconee River (Lake Oconee). The sites are located within a part of an upland ridge system that remained relatively isolated during the nineteenth and twentieth century. Because very rocky soil conditions, most of the area was unsuited for cultivation and for that reason some site areas appear to have escaped the disturbance caused by plowing. The field work consisted primarily of systematic shovel testing, test unit excavation, surface collecting, and site mapping. Metal detecting was accomplished on one Historic period site. A limited amount of geomorphological investigation was also conducted.

The tested sites include a late Mississippian farmstead (9GE552), an antebellum plantation (9GGE1649), two Early Archaic probable habitation site (9GE1660 and 9GE1661), and a predominately Late Archaic habitation site and quartz quarry (9GE1662). 9GE552 displays a widely dispersed scatter of late Lamar pottery, but the primary area of habitation is limited to a 50-x-50 area. Testing identified one large Lamar midden-filled pit at the base of the plowzone. Based on previous research, other household features, such as post molds, are likely present. 9GE1649 is primarily associated with a small Historic period plantation dating to the early decades of the nineteenth century. Testing identified a large subsoil-intruding feature and associated sheet midden related to the main house and post molds associated with an outlaying structure, possibly a slave house. Sites 9GE1660 and 9GE1661 are Early Archaic lithic sites with areas of preserved cultural deposits. Portions of both sites contain probable unplowed topsoil deposits and artifact patterning indicating discrete activity areas. Site 9GE1662 contains evidence of Early Archaic, Late Archaic and Middle to Late Woodland occupation found in unplowed topsoil deposits. The primary site occupation on 9GE1662 dates to the Late Archaic period.

Testing indicates that portions of each site retain preserved cultural deposits that may contribute important information relating to the history or prehistory of the Oconee Valley. For that reason, all five sites are recommended eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D at the local level of significance. This study was conducted as a part of the Section 404 permitting as required by Memorandum of Agreement entered into by Reynolds Plantation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office. Acceptance of this report by the regulatory agencies fulfills the requirements of the testing phase investigations for the project.