On February 6-7, 2009, a preliminary archaeological survey of the Barn Creek riverbank at Long Tabby on Sapelo Island, Georgia, was undertaken (Figure 1). This effort was sponsored by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and was part of the annual Weekend for Wildlife fundraising program in which professional archaeologists and volunteers participate in archaeological activities on Sapelo; in the last two years, similar programs have occurred at Chocolate Plantation (Honerkamp and Harris 2007) and Bourbon Field (Harris n.d.). Archaeology faculty and students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and the University of West Florida (UWF) assisted the DNR archaeologists. The portion of the riverbank adjacent to Long Tabby is experiencing significant erosion, and tabby foundations associated with Thomas Spalding's 19th century sugar operation are slowly falling into the tidal creek. Hence bank stabilization is planned by DNR in the near future. Prior to this stabilization effort, an archaeological assessment will be necessary. The purpose of the present survey was to generate archaeological information that can be used to provide a framework for any future archaeology at this location.
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