Diver Hands-On Evaluation of Anomalies St. Marys Entrance Channel Camden County, Georgia

The Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base has proposed a dredging project to widen a section of the St. Marys Entrance Channel in Camden County, Georgia. AU. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District [USACE-S] remote sensing survey of the proposed project area conducted in 2000 identified three potentially significant anomalies that would be affected by the planned dredging. In order to determine the identity of the magnetic anomalies, the USACE-S contracted with Gulf South Research Corporation of Baton Rouge to have Tidewater Atlantic Research Inc., [TAR] of Washington, North Carolina conduct an archaeological diver investigation of the three target sites. Field research for that project was conducted as weather permitted between 29 November and 5 December 2000. Diver identification and assessment revealed that material generating anomaly "A" was a combination of modern cable and a flat iron bar. Anomaly "B" was also identified as cable, two lengths of which were attached to a section of the side of the hull of a modern vessel. A thorough search of anomaly "E" revealed no cultural material, and the source of the anomaly could not be identified. As the material generating signatures "A" and "B" was modern, no further investigation is recommended in conjunction with the proposed project. Material generating anomaly "E" was too small to be identified and lay in a heavily scoured area at the toe of the channel where dredging has previously disturbed the historic bottom. Because the nature of the signature suggests that material associated with the anomaly is also wire and the target environment is heavily disturbed, no further investigation is recommended in conjunction with the proposed project. Assessment of St. Marys Entrance Channel anomalies confirms that no National Register of Historic Places eligible submerged cultural resources will be disturbed by the proposed dredging.