ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA RECOVERY PLAN FOR SITE 9HT249 SR 247 BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS OVER BIG INDIAN CREEK, HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA GDOT P.I. NO. 0011685, HP NO. 130717-001

            The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) proposes to replace two structurally deficient bridges on State Route (SR) 24 7 over Big Indian Creek and its overflow, in Houston County, Georgia (GDOT P.I. No. 0011685, HPNo. 130717-001) (Figure 1). The proposed project would have direct impacts on archaeological site 9HT249, located just north of Big Indian Creek and straddling both sides of SR 247. Site 9HT249 is located on a roughly east-west trending sand dune that parallels Big Indian Creek, resting approximately 240 feet above mean sea .level (AMSL), the lower portion of which may contain the remnant of an alluvial terrace. Site 9HT249 is a Late Archaic, short-term, seasonal campsite that contains deep, intact lithic artifact deposits. Following Phase II investigations, the site, with an undefined eastern boundary, was determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion D.

            Site 9HT249 has been identified as a Late Archaic (ca. 3000-1000 B.C.) campsite, located within

the interior of the Coastal Plain physiographic province, near the boundary with the Piedmont province.

            The Phase I survey and subsequent Phase II investigation of 9HT249 was completed by Edward-Pitman Environmental, Inc. (EPEI) (Green and Trudeau 20 16). Phase I survey of 9HT249 was conducted via the placement of30-meter shovel tests and 15-meter delineation shovel tests along eight transects. Fifty-four shovel tests were excavated within the known site boundary; 39 percent (n=21) were positive for precontact artifacts. A total of 239 artifacts were recovered from these positive shovel tests, with an average of 11.4 artifacts per shovel test. However, almost half of the artifacts (n=l03) were recovered from a single shovel test, Transect (TR)3.5 Shovel Test (ST)14. The survey revealed that the highest concentration of positive shovel tests occurred on the eastern side of SR 247, with a high artifact density located within the southeastern corner of the site at. TR3.5 ST14 (Figure 2).

Phase II investigations at 9HT249 included the excavation of 10 backhoe trenches for a geomorphological survey, a geophysical survey of the western portion of the site via three Ground

Penetrating Radar (GPR) grids, and the hand excavation of 12 square meters consisting of two 2-x-2 meter excavation blocks, and two 1-x-2 meter excavation blocks (Figure 3). The Phase II investigations recovered 6,318 lithic artifacts, comprised of mostly Coastal Plain chert, with instances of Piedmont chert, Ridge and Valley chert, and quartz. While no features were identified during the investigations, a cultural deposit was identified between 50 to 100 centimeters below the surface, with a very dense lithic deposit between 60 to 70 centimeters below the surface.

            Archaeological data recovery at 9HT249 will provide, at the least, information regarding the Late

Archaic cultural period within the interior Coastal Plain and address the site's research potential under Criterion D. Specifically, site 9HT249 has the potential to address settlement patterns of the interior Coastal Plain in the Ocmulgee River basin, as well as provide an opportunity to test an methodological approach for assessing small lithic scatters found in the Coastal Plain.