Archaeological Testing at the Lighthouse Site, Sapelo Island, Georgia

As part of the 2011 Weekend For Wildlife program sponsored by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), two days of archaeological testing were carried out at the Sapelo Island Lighthouse Site on Sapelo Island, in McIntosh County, Georgia (Figure I). This project was a combined effort on the part of 12 Weekend for Wildlife volunteers and 11 archaeologists associated with DNR, the University of West Florida, the University of West Georgia, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The goal of the project was to positively identify the remains of the 1820 lighthouse keeper's residence adjacent to the extant oil house and lighthouse. A two-meter section of a brick foundation was visible at the site (Figure 2), and it was believed to be associated with the keeper's home (Rogers 2004a:3). Investigating this foundation was the main focus of the Weekend For Wildlife archaeological research. The testing program was carried out on February 4 and 5, 2011, through the excavation and screening (1/4 inch mesh) of two one-meter square and two half-meter square test units; shovel-exposing two sections of brick foundations; and mapping and photographing the brick features. The locations and elevations of the features, test units, and site landmarks were recorded using a total station.