Phase I Archaeological Survey of the Proposed Sardis Telecommunications Facility in Sardis

Subterranean Consultants (STC) performed a Phase I archaeological survey of the proposed Sardis telecommunications facility lease area, access/utility easement, and guy wire easements (hereafter also called survey area) on December 20, 2015. The survey area is located in southeastern Burke County in Sardis, Georgia (32º 58’ 50.58” N, 81º 44’ 34.46” W). The study was conducted for Terracon Consultants, Inc., on behalf of SouthernLINC Wireless, in order to locate and identify archaeological resources and to assess resource significance based on National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria [36CFR Part 60.4 (a-d)]. This survey was conducted to comply with the provisions of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permitting under the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement (47 CFR Part 1). In accordance with the permitting process, the survey was conducted in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. The Phase I survey included a literature review and intensive field survey. During the literature review, which took place on November 30, 2015, state and county maps and documents were examined to determine if previously recorded archaeological resources were located in or around the survey area. The field survey was conducted using surface and subsurface techniques (i.e., visual inspection and shovel testing) to locate and identify archaeological resources within the study area. Literature Review: Review of the Georgia Archaeological Site File (GASF) revealed that there are four previously recorded archaeological sites (9BK10, 9BK65, 9BK66, and 9BK67) and two surveys (Duff 1995; Hunt 2010) within 2.4 km (1.5 mi) of the survey area. Archaeological Resources Field Survey: There are no archaeological materials (i.e., culturally modified artifacts, cultural deposits, features, or human remains) located within the survey area. Recommendations: This study recommends that the current proposed project receive archaeological resource clearance; no further archaeological work is recommended.