In January, February, May, and June 2013, Edwards‑Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) conducted Phase II archaeological testing of two sites, 9BR7 and 9BR821, situated within the area of potential effect (APE) of the Douthit Ferry Road (County Road [CR] 343) improvement project (Georgia Department of Transportation [GDOT] Project No. STP‑0007‑00[494]; P.I. No. 0007494). This GDOT project involves 2.3 miles of roadway improvements along Douthit Ferry Road, beginning at the intersection of Old Alabama Road and extending north to the intersection of State Route (SR) 61/SR 113 (West Avenue). The portion of the project that will potentially affect these two sites consists of roadway widening from two 12‑foot lanes to four 12‑foot lanes with a 20‑foot raised median. Only those portions of the sites that lay within the APE were investigated. The limits of the APE were determined by GDOT plans dated February of 2012.
Both 9BR7 and 9BR821 are located within the Etowah Valley National Register District, a 40,000 acre tract of land in Bartow and Floyd counties, which includes numerous historic and archaeological sites and is listed on the NRHP. Both sites have been investigated by previous archaeologists. Site 9BR7 has been the subject of at least four previous archaeological investigations (Braley 1979; Crawford 1980; Crook and Saunders 1985; Wauchope 1966). These four projects, in addition to EPEI=s Phase I survey of the site, determined that 9BR7 was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Previous investigations at 9BR821 (Southerlin 1992), located immediately north of 9BR7, revealed cultural components representing the Woodland period Cartersville phase, Early Mississippi period Etowah phase, Middle Mississippi period Wilbanks phase, and Late Mississippi period Brewster phase (Southerlin 1992). Southerlin stated that all sites investigated during the 1992 survey (a group that included 9BR821) should be considered potentially eligible for the NRHP. EPEI revisited the site during the Phase I survey (Quirk and Silliman 2009) and considered the potential eligibility of the site and recommended testing.
Phase II investigations at 9BR7 initially consisted of three excavation blocks (Excavation Blocks 3, 4, and 5). Placement of these blocks was guided by the results of a geophysical survey completed prior to the commencement of Phase II testing. Soil samples were collected and analyzed by the project geomorphologist for soil chemistry, magnetic susceptibility, and size‑grade analysis to aid in the interpretation of excavation results (Appendix F).
Excavation Block 3 measured 1‑x‑4 meters whereas Excavation Block 4 measured 2‑x‑2 meters; both of these were placed over ground‑penetrating radar (GPR) high point anomalies that were interpreted by Pomfret (see Appendix E) as potential large post or pit features. Excavation Block 5 measured 1‑x‑2 meters, was located atop a magnetic anomaly, and was situated approximately 3.5 meters west of the mound remnant. Intact cultural midden was encountered in all three of the excavation blocks at 9BR7, as was a rock cluster feature in Excavation Block 4. This feature contained no thermally altered soils or associated staining and only two associated flakes. Although Phase II testing of 9BR7 uncovered only one cultural feature, an intact buried cultural midden was present in all excavated contexts. As 9BR7 is associated with a mound, it is very possible that the midden and the mound remnant are related, a circumstance that suggests the site has the potential to yield data significant to future research.
In order to define more precisely the extent of midden deposits across 9BR7, 30 close interval shovel tests were excavated along six transects at 3 meter intervals. This testing revealed midden deposits extending north to a swale separating the site from 9BR821, west to the ditch paralleling Douthit Ferry Road, south to the old dogleg of Douthit Ferry Road, and east to the extent of the APE. Additional auger testing was conducted at 10 meter intervals along the eastern edge of Douthit Ferry Road, within the road embankment, to determine whether cultural midden extended underneath the road. No midden was present in any of these auger tests, effectively establishing the western boundary of the site at the drainage ditch located east of and parallel to Douthit Ferry Road. Accordingly, the portion of the site within the APE containing midden does contribute to the site=s overall eligibility for the NRHP under Criterion D. These midden deposits retain subsurface integrity and likely contain cultural features that have the potential to address questions of site occupational history, subsistence strategy, and site structure of an important mound site in the Etowah Valley National Register District. If the site cannot be avoided, the contributing portion within the APE will need data recovery excavations.
Phase II investigations at 9BR821 consisted of the excavation of two excavation blocks: Excavation Blocks 1 and 2, each of which measured 1‑x‑4 meters. Both excavation blocks were situated above magnetic anomalies detected during the geophysical survey, which were tentatively interpreted as the remains of precontact features. No cultural features were encountered in Excavation Block 1 and artifact density was light. Based on the results of the geomorphological analysis, the magnetic anomaly was most likely created by discarded ferrous farming equipment that rusted and left residual iron in the soil. A feature was encountered at the base of Excavation Block 2, but this was determined to be a relict drainage and not the product of cultural activities. As was the case with Excavation Block 1, the artifact assemblage from Excavation Block 2 consisted of a moderate quantity of both historic and precontact artifacts. These investigations revealed that the portion of 9BR821 in the APE does not hold the potential to yield information significant to regional culture history. This assessment is based upon the absence of cultural features and an assemblage of artifacts that is small and non‑diverse, suggesting a limited range of activities. Therefore, no further work is recommended at 9BR821 within the APE. As the portion of the site outside of the APE has not been investigated, any changes to the design of the proposed project that encroach into unexamined portions of the site will require additional work.
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