Archaeological Survey at Ft. Benning's Compartment C-2 Chattahoochee County, Georgia

The staff of Panamerican Consultants, Inc. (PCI) conducted an archaeological survey of 414 hectares (ha) (1,023.6 acres) within Ft. Benning military reservation where it exists in Chattahoochee County, Georgia. The fieldwork took place between April 14 and June 4, 1993. The goal of the survey was to make a comprehensive inventory of all cultural resources in management Compartment C-2. In the eastern part of the reservation, this compartment is in an area north of U.S. Highway 280 and south of Ochillee Creek. The southernmost tip of the study area lies about 4.3 kilometers (km) northwest of the modern town of Cusseta, Georgia. The survey scope of work called for intensive pedestrian coverage linked to 30 meter (m) shovel test intervals along parallel transects also spaced 30 m apart. In all, 3,204 shovel test locations were documented during this survey. Of this number, 1,899 shovel tests were excavated, including 273 shovel tests that produced cultural materials and 1,626 shovel tests with negative results. There were 1,305 documented locations where excavation was inappropriate due to standing water, extreme slope, or the complete absence of topsoil. An estimated total volume of 60.91 cubic m (m3) was excavated by shovel testing. The survey located 41 archaeological sites and 33 isolated finds. No sites had been documented previously in the survey area. Of the archaeological sites, 10 are historical (or possibly historical), 12 have both prehistoric and historic materials, and 19 have only prehistoric materials. Prehistoric evidence among the sites spans the Paleoindian period to Late Mississippian times. Historic sites tend to be minimal scatters of African/Euro-American home sites occupied in the 1800s or early 1900s. The historic sites are now heavily impacted and without standing structures. Three sites are recommended clearly eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP): 9Ce468 (historic, prehistoric); 9Ce469 (prehistoric); and 9Ce470 (prehistoric). Eleven sites are recommended potentially eligible for listing in the NRHP: 9Ce467, 9Ce472, 9Ce473, 9Ce477, 9Ce480, 9Ce485, 9Ce488, 9Ce492, 9Ce496, 9Ce498, and 9Ce499. Twenty-seven sites are recommended ineligible for listing in the NRHP. No isolated finds are recommended eligible or potentially eligible for listing in the NRHP.