Archaeological Data Recovery Area 4 Fig Island Channel Site Savannah, Georgia

Fig Island Channel once separated Hutchinson Island from Fig Island and was located across the Savannah River from the City of Savannah, Georgia. Shortly after the Revolutionary War, inhabitants of Savannah began the practice of abandoning derelict vessels in Fig Island Channel in an attempt to reduce shoaling in the Savannah River. Recent improvements to Savannah Harbor by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Savannah Harbor Navigation Project) have caused historic vessels once buried in Fig Island Channel to erode from the shoreline. Because of the size of the Fig Island Channel Archaeological Site and the number of vessels to be recorded in a relatively short period of time, several independent archaeological consultant groups, in conjunction with Gulf Engineers and Consultants, Inc. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were subcontracted to conduct archaeological data recovery at the site. In the case of Area 4, the Corps of Engineers visually identified two vessels referred to as Vessels 8 and 9/10. Mid-Atlantic Technology of Wilmington, North Carolina, was contracted to conduct archaeological data recovery of Vessels 8 and 9/10 along with an intensive survey to identify any other buried derelicts within Area 4. Mid-Atlantic Technology's field investigations began September 11 and were completed September 20, 1993. Vessel 8 and Vessel 9/10 were excavated, and details of their construction were recorded. The material designated as "Vessel 8" was determined to actually be the remains of some type of land-based structure. Vessel 9/10 was the remains of a rectangular wooden utility barge.