Remote Sensing Survey of Potential Bend Wideners Savannah Harbor Expansion Project Chatham County, Georgia and Jasper County, South Carolina

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, together with the Georgia Ports Authority, are examining the feasibility of deepening the Savannah Harbor navigation channel. The deepening project would also include the excavation of the ten proposed bend wideners to allow longer and wider ships to navigate the channel safely. From February 3'd through the 16m, 2003, maritime archaeologists from Panamerican Consultants, Inc. of Memphis, Tennessee conducted an intensive remote-sensing survey of these ten areas located within the Savannah River, Chatham County, Georgia and Jasper County, South Carolina. The purpose of the survey was to determine the presence or absence of anomalies within the ten project areas and that might be representative of potentially significant submerged cultural resources eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and which subsequently might require additional investigations. Performed under subcontract to Gulf South Research Corporation of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, under Contract No. DACW21-98-D-0019, Delivery Order No. 57, the project was conducted for the Savannah District in response to their Scope of Work entitled Remote Sensing Survey of Potential Bend Wideners, Savannah Harbor Extension Project, Chatham County, Georgia and Jasper County, South Carolina.

Results of the magnetometer survey documented a total of 538 magnetic anomalies within the ten survey areas. Of these only 105 targets are located within the Area of Potential Effect (APE). The remaining 433 anomalies all remain outside the APE, are not considered significant for the purposes of this investigation, and are not recommended for further work. Of the 105 anomalies within the APE, only 12 are recommended for additional investigation. These 12 anomalies are of sufficient gamma deflection and duration as to potentially represent submerged cultural resources. If avoidance by project activities is not possible, it is recommended that additional investigations be conducted in order to evaluate their eligibility for nomination to the NRHP based on eligibility criteria.

Additionally, a total of 80 side scan sonar targets were identified during the survey of the ten areas. The majority of these targets represent modern debris such as dredge pipe and cable, typical of any industrial harbor setting. None of the side scan sonar targets (located within the APE) appear to represent potentially significant historic properties and are, therefore, not recommended for additional investigation.