Archival Research, Remote Sensing, and Low Water Survey, Savannah Harbor Navigation Project, Chatham County, Georgia and Jasper County, South Carolina

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, is collecting data for the preparation of a cultural resources management plan for Savannah Harbor Navigation Project. Most of the harbor was surveyed for submerged cultural resources in 1991, as part of either the harbor deepening project or the New Cut Closure Project. As a continuation of this work, Mid Atlantic Technology, of Wilmington, North Carolina, under subcontract agreement with Gulf Engineers and Consultants, Inc., completed a low water shoreline survey and remote sensing survey of selected areas of Savannah Harbor, in June 1993. Project tasks included limited historical research, a low water shoreline survey and a remote sensing survey using a 500 kHz side scan sonar and marine magnetometer. As a result of the low water shoreline investigations, a total of nine sites were identified. Two of the sites were identified as potentially eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Five other sites were considered worthy of further investigation and are potentially significant cultural resources. Two sites do not have significant potential to yield additional information and are not recommended for further investigation. Nine remote sensing targets were identified during the project. Six of the target signatures demonstrated characteristics that may be associated with a significant cultural resource. Mid Atlantic Technology recommends an underwater investigation to identify the nature of those target signatures. Three targets were identified as having characteristics commonly associated with modern debris such as wire rope, dredge pipe, or marine related structures. No further investigation of these remote sensing targets is recommended.