Archaeological Testing at Ten Sites at Fort Gordon, Georgia

In January and February, 1996, Panamerican Consultants performed Phase II testing on ten archaeological sites at Fort Gordon, Georgia. This work was carried out under contract DACW21 93-D-0040, Delivery Order 0023, for the Directorate of Public Works (DPW), Fort Gordon. Prior to the excavation of test units at the site, each site was intensively shovel tested in order to redefine and relocate the site boundaries as well as to identify areas with high archaeological potential. A total of 1,091 shovel tests were attempted in all. Of the ten sites tested, five (9RI514, 9RI520, 9RI685, 9RI693, and 9RI829) are no longer considered to be eligible for inclusion. The remaining five sites are considered to have important research potential and thus are recommended eligible for inclusion in the NRHP. Site 9RI489 is small habitation site which dates to the Middle Archaic, Early and Middle Woodland. The southern portion of site 9RI684 contains intact deposits which date to the Middle and Late Archaic. Site 9RI920 and 9RI928 are considered are both part of a lignite mine complex, and together provide an unique opportunity of study. Site 9RI930 is a deeply buried Middle Archaic campsite with an additional ceramic component. Those sites no longer considered to be eligible for inclusion to the NRHP no longer require protection from adverse affects. Those sites deemed to be eligible for inclusion need to be monitored and protected. It is recommended that archaeological mitigation be carried out on these sites prior to any adverse impacts on the areas. In May and June of 1996, a crew from Panamerican Consultants returned to Fort Gordon to GPS (Global Positioning System) the location of 169 sites which had previously been determined to be potentially eligible or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The work was requested in order to provide Fort Gordon with precise site locations in a format compatible with their Geographic Information System (GIS) and to make definitive NRHP determinations. Completion of this effort is a partial requirement to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, Executive Order 11593 (Protection and Enhancement of Cultural Environment), and the Archaeological and Historical Preservation Act of 1974. An attempt was made to relocate all 169 sites so that their boundaries could be determined using GPS; however, five sites were not relocated. The data collected during this survey was converted to a format compatible with Fort Gordon's GIS system. The disks with this information stands alone from this report.