Archaeological Reconnaissance in Underground Atlanta, Atl-udag-84-1-9

This report contains the results of archaeological reconnaissance conducted for the office of Economic Development of the City of Atlanta and the Underground Festival Development corporation. Archaeological reconnaissance was conducted for two tracts to be developed under ATL UDAG-34-1-9. These tracts are located at the northeast and northwest corners of Pryor Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Land use at the time of field excavations consisted of both paved parking lots and standing structures. While standing structures will eventually be demolished during the course of the development of these tracts, the archaeological research focused on the paved parking lots, as these contained both the majority of the properties and also were most accessible to the excavation strategy employed However, information garnered during excavations in these areas is applicable to the assessment of potential archaeological resources located beneath standing structures, and that potential will be addressed within this report. Excavations conducted during the reconnaissance phase consisted of the placement of five backhoe excavated trenches, of varying lengths, in study Tract A, and an additional four trenches in Tract B (Figure 1). As will be discussed in greater detail in the chapter on field methodology, these trenches were recorded by both photography and drawing, and interpretations of the placement of various Soil sequences and structural foundations were correlated with information collected during the historical research phase of this project, to provide a complete and accurate interpretation of the archaeological and architectural components located below surface, -as well as the natural and cultural topography through time. This information should be of use not only to those interested in the history and archaeology of Atlanta's premier historic district, but should also be beneficial to the engineers and contractors who will eventually make contact win these remains. The Request For Proposals outlined the general project nature. The RFP stated that "The purpose of the archaeological assessment is to identify the potential for archaeological resource occurrence in the specified portions of the project area where subsurface disturbance activity is anticipated." Specific goals which were outlined for this reconnaissance included: (1) the determination of the presence or absence of archaeological resources within the project area, (2) the determination of the location and the general nature of these resources, (3) the accumulation and presentation to the City of Atlanta of data necessary for the further development of Underground Atlanta, and (4) the collection of sufficient information to develop a Phase II testing design which would determine the National Register eligibility of any potentially significant archaeological resources located during the reconnaissance. This report presents the pertinent data, interpretations, and recommendations which address these goals. In order to facilitate the perusal of this information by various individuals and firms with differing interests, this report is divided into chapters presenting specific sets of information gathered during the reconnaissance phase. Chapter II presents a historic overview of the Underground areal with specific information on the transformation of these two properties through time. Chapter III presents a review of the methodologies employed during both the archaeological and historical research phases, which may be of interest to others conducting like research in urban Atlanta. Chapter IV presents the data recovered during archaeological research, its interpretations, and correlations with the site specific historical research. This chapter may contain information of interest to the engineers and contractors involved in the development of these tracts. Chapter V presents the conclusions and recommendations derived from the reconnaissance phase, and Specifically addresses approaches to further testing of archaeological resources within these Study properties. Finally, Appendix A presents a detailed bibliography of pertinent historic source materials for the Underground Atlanta area.