Archaeological Testing at Sites 9ME63 and 9ME216 Proposed National Infantry Museum Fort Benning Military Reservation Muscogee County, Georgia

This report presents the findings of an archaeological assessment at the pro­posed location of the new National Infantry Museum (NIM). The proposed NIM will be located in Muscogee County on land owned by the City of Columbus and the U. S. Army Infantry Center, Fort Benning, Georgia. Four archaeological sites are present on the tract. Two sites, 9Me373 and 9Me374, are located on the City's land and have been recommended as not significant by earlier surveys. The other two sites, 9Me63 and 9Me216, are located on Fort Benning's land and have been recommended poten­tially significant by previous surveys. Southern Research was employed by the Na­tional Infantry Foundation, Inc. to conduct an archaeological assessment of the two potentially significant sites on Army land in accordance with the National Historic Pres­ervation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The fieldwork was conducted during a three-week period in June and July 2001 with a crew of four to five archaeologists each day. Six 2x2 meter test units and 10 shovel tests were dug at site 9Me216. Three 2x2 meter units were dug at site 9Me63. All test units were hand excavated to 2 meters below the ground surface into culturally sterile soils. In all 63 cubic meters of deposits were sampled during our work. Sites 9Me63 and 9Me216 produced evidence of multiple Native American oc­cupations covering nearly 10,000 years including Early Archaic, Late Archaic, Wood­land, Mississippian and Historic Creek Periods. There are late 19th and early 20th cen­tury artifact scatters on the sites but these are recommended not significant. Signifi­cant Native American artifacts and features were found in intact soil horizons begin­ning at about 20 cm (0.66 feet) to approximately 1.50 meters (4.92 feet) below the surface. Both sites are recommended as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places at the national level under criterion D (have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history). They have integrity and have demonstrated that they are capable of answering important questions about Native American culture and the geomorphic processes that bury archaeological sites in the Fall Line Sandhills region. Specific impacts to either of the significant sites have not been identified, how­ever, conceptual plans for the new museum complex show the sites in areas pro­posed for development. Until a decision has been reached concerning the final depo­sition of sites 9Me63 and 9Me216, both sites must be conscientiously protected. Any activities that involve geotechnical investigations, grading, digging, grubbing, boring, coring, trenching or any other ground disturbance may adversely affect the site's in­tegrity and jeopardize the permitting process. The locations of these significant sites should be noted in all plans and construction documents so they are not unintention­ally impacted. This is especially true because of the possibility of Native American graves in addition to other significant features close to the ground's surface.

We recommend that the National Infantry Foundation begin immediate discus­sions with Fort Benning's Environmental Management Division (EMO) to lay out a plan for the expeditious completion of the Section 106 process. The recommended first step, if the EMO Chief agrees, would be to submit for review and comment, the Draft Final Report of the archaeological assessment to Fort Benning, the Savannah Corps of Engineers, the Georgia Historic Preservation Division, and all Native American Tribal representatives.