Phase II Archaeological Testing at 9LE74, Lee County, Georgia

TRC conducted Phase II archaeological testing of site 9LE74 to evaluate its eligibility status for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The site is located along Muckalee Creek in the southeastern portion of Lee County, Georgia. Fieldwork was carried out between July 30 and August 2, 2001. The testing program consisted of the manual excavation of five 1-x-2 m test units and an examination of several of the looter's trenches. The test units were excavated in arbitrary 10cm levels to depths ranging from 125-135 cm below the surface. Artifacts were concentrated in the upper 80 cm of the site, but were found as deep as 130 cm. A significant decline in artifact density coincided with a discreet soil change at roughly 100 cm in the all of the units. The soil change consisted of a transition to very coarse sand, often containing bits of shell. Temporally diagnostic artifacts comprised only a small percentage of the recovered samples. Three stemmed projectile points were recovered, all of which appear to be Late Archaic. The only ceramic encountered from the site was a single sherd located on the surface, well south of the project corridor. No ceramics were found within the project right-of-way. The paucity of ceramics or other identifiable Woodland materials suggest that the site was used primarily during the Archaic period. Excavations revealed no subsurface features in either the test units or in the looters trenches, nor were there any identifiable cultural strata. The artifact inventory consists of locally derived chert flakes, cores, and biface fragments indicating initial core reduction, preliminary and advanced biface production, as well as heat alteration of both multifaceted cores and bifaces. Given the site's proximity to chert outcrops, multiple occupations representing several archaeological phases are probably present. In the absence of stratified cultural zones or features, there is little chance to isolate any particular occupation for detailed analysis. Additional excavations likely would yield only redundant information. It is our opinion that the artifact sample from our excavations are representative of the portion of the site that occurs within the project corridor and further work in the corridor would produce redundant information, especially in regards to chert procurement and reduction. Based on the Phase II testing, we recommend no further work at 9LE74 within the proposed right-of-way. Given the fact that the site is much larger than that portion we examined, we cannot make a definitive recommendation of eligibility for the site in its entirety. However, that portion of the site that exists within the project corridor does not contain deposits that can provide important information about prehistory beyond what has been learned through the Phase II work. We recommend, however, that if any future Section 106 review be necessary for an undertaking that would affect portions of the site not within the currently proposed roadway, the portions of the site within in that future area of effect be evaluated to determine NRHP eligibility. Given the size of the site and the limited area through which the current undertaking passes, an eligibility determination for any future work can not be made based on the results of the present study.