On December 18, 2002, staff of the Office of the State Archaeologist, housed in the Historic Preservation Division of Georgia Department of Natural Resources, conducted an archaeological investigation on a ca. 10 acre tract adjacent to Fort King George State Historic Site in McIntosh County (Figure 1). The purpose of the investigation was to evaluate the potential for finding significant archaeological resources on the property. The information will be provided to park planners as they consider how the property will be used. Archaeologists re-established the arbitrary grid used in a 1983 survey of a portion of the tract, mapped a large borrow pit in the northwest corner of the tract, collected representative artifacts from roads and a stream bank, conducted metal detector testing in an area reported to contain a Civil War artifact scatter, and placed two 1 x 1 meter test units in that same area. The December investigation located a dense deposit of historic material along the creek that forms the north boundary of the tract, but testing in the area of the reported Civil War artifact scatter demonstrated that agricultural plowing had mixed historic and prehistoric artifacts in a disturbed plow zone. Neither of the test units encountered intact deposits or features, and no definite Civil War period artifacts were found. Results of the December investigation suggest that the Civil War component has been destroyed since the 1983 investigation, but deeper features were encountered in 1983, and those and other deep features probably remain on the site. Additional archaeological investigation is recommended prior to any ground disturbing activities.
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