Cultural Resources Survey of a Portion of the Fall Line Freeway, Talbot and Taylor Counties, Georgia

Archeological survey was conducted along the expansion corridor of Georgia State Route (SR) 96 from the eastern edge of the city limits of Geneva to a location east of the town of Howard, and including a corridor by-pass around the town of Junction City. The survey followed portions of the Fall Line Freeway corridor, which was partially examined through a sample survey in 1986 (Gresham and Rudolph). Project areas lie within Talbot and Taylor counties, Georgia, and constitute a 13.91 mile long corridor including a 2.75 mile by-pass varying in width from 200-265 It and widening portions measuring 11.16 miles long by 100 ft wide. Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. utilized a total of twenty person-days conducting fieldwork during the latter part of March, 1993. Surface reconnaissance combined with the excavation of 359 shovel tests located a total of 19 prehistoric and historic sites, three isolated finds, and three historic standing structures with no associated artifacts. Site density along the project area in Talbot and Taylor counties was one site every 11.2 acres, exhibiting a much higher density than surrounding areas that have been surveyed. None of the sites are recommended eligible for nomination to the NRHP due to one or more factors including: the lack of depth of artifacts (plow zone), the lack of context of the artifacts (disturbance from grading, cultivations, clear-cutting, razing, redeposition, and erosion), or the likelihood of the sites providing little additional, substantial information as the result of further archeological excavations. Key information on the sites is presented in Table 1. The survey also located several areas and sites containing redeposited soils and artifacts. These areas were concentrated along the edge of the highway and in the road shoulder. This report addresses the problem of soil redeposition and its effect on site locations and settlement data.