Third Addendum Phase I Archaeological Survey for the Planned I-985 Interchange of SR 13 Crossover Near Martin Road, Hall County, Georgia GDOT Project No. NHS00-0000-00(425) GDOT PI No. 0000425 HP # 060811-004

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) plans to build a new interchange on Interstate 985 (I-985) and an associated connector road between Thurmon Tanner Parkway (formerly Thurmon Tanner Road) and Falcon Parkway (SR 13) (Figure 1), to be known as Martin Road Extension. New South Associates completed a third addendum to the Phase I archaeological survey of the proposed undertaking. The original survey was conducted by PBS&J (now Atkins North America) in 2007 (Cremer et al. 2007). Addendum surveys were also conducted by New South Associates in 2014 (Joseph and Davis 2014) and Edwards-Pitman Environmental in 2015 (Trudeau 2015). The work was pursuant to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (36 CFR 800) and was intended to identify archaeological resources in the project’s area of potential effect (APE) and generate recommendations regarding National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility. This report provides information on the results of the fieldwork and preliminary recommendations with respect to further Section 106 activities.

Based on the current design plans and consultation with the GDOT Project Archaeologist, 16 individual locations, or Areas of Reevaluation (AR), were identified for survey, and ARs are considered part of the project’s APE. The current survey investigated 12 ARs (ARs 1–12) where within the APE identified the eastern edge of the cemetery and established a 10-meter (30-ft.) wide grave-free buffer. The existing Georgia Archaeological Site Form was updated to reflect the recent fieldwork. The known limit of the cemetery does not overlap the APE. No further work is necessary to satisfy Section 106 requirements, and New South recommends that the planned undertaking may proceed. An Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) designation is recommended for both sites to protect unknown portions of them from inadvertent construction impacts new required rights-of-way (ROW) and/or easements are planned. These locations are on H.F. Reed Industrial Parkway, Martin Road, SR 13 (Falcon Parkway), I-985 (northbound and southbound), and Thurmon Tanner Parkway. The addendum survey also examined the proposed locations of four guide signs at the one-mile and half-mile marks approaching the exit ramps (ARs 13–16). These ARs were within the existing ROW, but outside of the original APE. Following consultation with the GDOT Project Archaeologist, the APE was not extended to include the space between the new sign locations and the previous limits of the Phase I archaeological survey by PBS&J in 2007. An Expanded Survey Corridor (ESC) was not required for this addendum survey.

As a result of the survey, one new precontact site (9HL614) was identified and a previously recorded site 9HL600, the Zion Hill Baptist Church Cemetery, was revisited. Site 9HL614 is a low-density scatter of Late Woodland to Mississippian pottery located in AR 8. The portion of 9HL614 within the APE appears to have no data potential, but because the scatter may extend beyond the APE, its overall NRHP eligibility is unknown. The property for Zion Hill Baptist Church Cemetery (9HL600) lay adjacent to the northeast edge of AR 8 and subsurface probing within the APE identified the eastern edge of the cemetery and established a 10-meter (30-ft.) wide grave-free buffer. The existing Georgia Archaeological Site Form was updated to reflect the recent fieldwork. The known limit of the cemetery does not overlap the APE. No further work is necessary to satisfy Section 106 requirements, and New South recommends that the planned undertaking may proceed. An Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) designation is recommended for both sites to protect unknown portions of them from inadvertent construction impacts.