An Archaeological Survey for the Proposed Oxbow Marina Muscogee County, Georgia

This report describes Phase I archaeological survey of 84 acres for the proposed Oxbow Marina in Muscogee County, Georgia. During the survey, two previously recorded sites and two new sites were identified. Site 9Me24, located on the bank of Upatoi Creek, was recorded by David Chase in the 1950's. It has Woodland and Mississippian Period components. Several cultural features and a probable midden were found at the site during the current survey. The site is potentially eligible to the NRHP. Site 9Me14, also recorded by Chase, is a multicomponent site located on a bluff overlooking Upatoi Creek. Several components are represented there, including Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and Historic Native American, as well as a later historic or modern component. Additionally, Chase • .named the site as the type site for the Upatoi Complex. The site has deeply buried cultural deposits and probable cultural features and it is potentially eligible to the NRHP. Site 9Me876 is a Woodland Period ceramic scatter on a knoll on the bank of the Upatoi. It has been heavily disturbed by gravel mining operations and is not recommended eligible to the NRHP. The fourth site, 9Me877, is located on a small ridgetop overlooking the Upatoi. The site was identified only by surface artifacts which are not diagnostic. No shovel tests were excavated at the site, because it is located immediately adjacent to a residential area and property boundaries are unclear. It could not be determined whether the site lies within the project area. Particularly, sites 9Me24 and 9Me14 have strong potential for being eligible to the NRHP, though further documentation through Phase II testing is needed for verification. Further work is recommended at sites 9Me24, 9Me14 and perhaps 9Me877, as well as near the confluence of the Chattahoochee River and Upatoi Creek.