Phase I Archaeological Survey of the I-285 at Bouldercrest Road Interchange, DeKalb County, Georgia

From April 11-25, 2011, EPEI conducted a Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed improvements at the Interstate (I) 285 at Bouldercrest Road interchange. The proposed project would reconstruct and rehabilitate the existing interchange at I-285 and Bouldercrest Road. The existing diamond interchange is incurring operational problems due to growth in traffic caused by commercial developments, tractor trailer trucks, turning, and through work trips. The land use in the corridor is mainly made up of strip commercial developments and an industrial park. This project was first identified for improvement in 1992. Because of the proximity to the I-285 at I-675 interchange, it is expected that the improvements will include braided ramps along I-285 between the Bouldercrest Road and I-675 interchanges. The total length of the surveyed APE and ESC is approximately 2.85 kilometers (1.78 miles) and varied in width from approximately 500 meters (1640.4 feet) along I-285 to 980 meters (3215.2 feet) at the I-285 at Bouldercrest Road interchange. This surveyed area included all existing and proposed right-of-way (ROW), as well as all projected construction easements, defined as the APE, and an expanded survey corridor (ESC) amounting to an additional 100 feet of width. A review of the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF) at the University of Georgia (UGA), in Athens, and of Georgia's Natural, Archaeological, and Historic Resources Geographic Information System (GNAHRGIS) showed that 34 previously identified sites have been recorded within a 1-kilometer radius of the project area. In some cases, information from the GASF and GNAHRGIS about some sites was contradictory and such instances have been noted. Previously recorded sites within 1 kilometer of the project area represent occupations ranging from the Early Archaic through Historic periods and vary in type from small prehistoric and historic artifact scatters and camp sites to relatively large quarry, workshop, and village sites. The western half of the area of potential effect (APE) encompasses a portion of the Soapstone Ridge District. This property was a National Historic Landmark (NHL) designation which was later not pursued by the National Park Service (NPS) and was also nominated for the National Register of Historic Places by the Georgia Historic Sites Division. The most frequently occurring sites are soapstone quarries and workshops that were originally discovered in the mid-1970s by Dickens and Carnes during their survey of proposed alternate routes for I-675 (Dickens and Carnes 1975, 1983). Four previously recorded sites within 1 kilometer of the APE, 9DA20, 9DA50, 9DA68, and 9DA364, have been recommended for the NRHP. During their study, Dickens and Carnes noted that two sites, 9DA68 and 9DA69, should be considered of national significance while 9DA20 and 9DA50 should be considered significant on the state level. Two previously identified sites, 9DA68 and 9DA94, are located within the APE. Site 9DA68 is located on the south side of I-285 on the summit of a hill that overlooks the eastbound on-ramp Phase I Archaeological Survey of the I-285 at ii Bouldercrest Road Interchange, DeKalb County, Georgia connecting I-675 to I-285. This site was originally recorded in 1975 as an Archaic period soapstone workshop. The site was revisited in 2001 by TRC Garrow Associates and recommended eligible for the NRHP. Since the revisit, a residential development has been built over the site. For the current survey, EPEI archaeologists performed an intensive visual inspection of the site area and associated outcrops within the APE, in addition to close-interval shovel testing. These efforts yielded no cultural remains and no evidence for the quarrying or working of soapstone was identified. It appears that residential development has destroyed the site. Site 9DA94 is located approximately 400 meters southeast of the I-285 and Bouldercrest Road interchange, on the north bank of the South River. This site was originally recorded in 1975 as a Late Archaic camp; however, data provided by GNAHRGIS describes the site as a prehistoric Indian artifact or shell scatter. For this survey, EPEI archaeologists conducted an intensive visual inspection of the recorded site area, as well as close-interval shovel testing. These efforts yielded no evidence of cultural remains. This suggests that either the site has been destroyed, or is located outside the APE. Phase I archaeological survey for the proposed improvements at the I-285 at Bouldercrest Road interchange resulted in the identification of one site, 9DA453, and one Isolated Find (IF 1). Site 9DA453 is an historic farmstead that consists of five collapsed structures, six foundation remnants, two wells, a koi pond, and a concrete cistern that relate to a twentieth-century component. The site is located in the western portion of the survey area on a ridge that is situated north of I-285. This site encompasses a large area that measures approximately 390 meters along the primary northeast-southwest axis and 170 meters along the shorter northwest-southeast axis. Isolated Find 1 consists of a single positive shovel test containing lithic debitage. Both 9DA453 and IF 1 extend beyond the APE and their eligibility is unknown. Those portions of 9DA453 and IF 1 within the APE do not contribute to their overall eligibility. Architectural and archaeological features present at 9DA453 within the APE do not contribute to the site's overall eligibility; the integrity of architectural features located within the APE has been compromised due to collapse and/or advanced deterioration, and the integrity of archaeological remains has been compromised by erosion and subsequent redeposition and/or mixing. The original historic landscape is no longer intact and therefore does not qualify as a Rural Historic Landscape or Historic District. Furthermore, the advanced state of decay of the structures renders determining their functions and association to each other and to the site as a whole impossible; the few remaining intact architectural features do not convey historical significance. Isolated Find 1 is of low research potential and is ineligible for the NRHP. No further archaeological investigations within the APE is recommended. Should the design of the proposed project change to include areas of either 9DA453 or IF 1 that could not be delineated, further archaeological testing will be required to delineate fully these locales.