Appraisal of the Archaeological Resources of Hartwell Reservoir, South Carolina and Georgia

The Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, is planning to build a power and flood control dam on the Upper Savannah River at a site 7 miles east of Hartwell, Georgia. The reservoir thus created would be partly in Georgia and partly in South Carolina and would flood the uppermost 8 miles of the Savannah River valley, 40 miles or nearly all of the Tugalo River, and 32 miles of the Seneca-Keowee River. The maximum reservoir elevation as planned is 665 feet M.S.L. The National Park Service made a reconnaissance of the area (November 1952 to February 1953) to see if any important archaeological or historical sites would be covered by water and to determine whether emergency or salvage excavations should be made. A total of 70 archaeological sites were found in or close to the reservoir area and test excavations were carried out at several of them. The conclusion was that the valleys of the Savannah, Tugalo and Keowee Rivers had been heavily occupied by a whole series of prehistoric peoples, beginning at least 5000 years ago and ending with the Lower Cherokee who lost their lands there after the revolution. It is recommended that steps be taken to recover as much as possible of the archaeological data before the sites are flooded or otherwise destroyed and irreplaceable scientific information is lost forever. The archaeological survey was greatly facilitated as a result of the cooperation of many interested persons and organizations in Georgia and South Carolina. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the courtesy of the Corps of Engineers, particularly to the members of the Savannah District Office, and to F.W. Facey Jr., Area Engineer at Clark Hill. We wish particularly to thank Miss Prather, and Messrs. McClure, Friar, Hayes, and Smith, as well as Clemson College, for graciously permitting excavations on their land.