Archaeological & Historical Investigations for the Proposed Rock Hawk Trail Corridor Adjoining Lawrence Shoals Park & Little Rock Eagle Mound

The following document represents the results of archeological investigations (intensive survey and monitoring) and historic background study for a proposed interpretative trail project in eastern Putnam County, Georgia (Figure 1 and Table 1). Because the overall project includes federal grant funding, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Historic Preservation Division required an archeological survey prior to trail construction. The overall results of the survey and recommendations have been presented previously in the document Archeological Survey of Lawrence Shoals (Rock Hawk) Trail, Putnam County, Georgia Management Summary dated June 6, 2004 (Ledbetter 2004). That document was submitted to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Historic Preservation Division (Office of the State Archaeologist) and concurrence with the recommendations was granted by a letter from that office dated July 30, 2004. The intensive archeological survey was limited to a narrow corridor of proposed new trails and existing trails that were to extend for several miles along the ridge slopes above Lake Oconee. Clearing of new trail was to be limited to about 3 m. The archeological survey covered an area approximately 20 m in width. For a variety of reasons, the project planners changed the projected length of the trail during the period of the SAS field survey. Over a one year period, the trail length changed from an estimate of nine miles, to a distance of ten kilometers, to a final figure of eight miles. In an effort to examine the trail route during optimal winter survey conditions, SAS surveyed all the trail segments envisioned on the preliminary design map. A relatively small amount of resurvey was required for the final flagged route during April and early May, 2004. In all, approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) of trail corridors were surveyed for archeological sites. Archeological monitoring of the initial bulldozing or clearing of the trail corridors was conducted by SAS during the winter months of 2004 and 2005. The information procured during the monitoring phase is included in this report. The intensive archeological survey of the proposed trail corridor was conducted during the winter and early spring months of 2004 by personnel of Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. (SAS), with the assistance of archeologist Ronnie Rogers of the Office of Historic Preservation. Nick Nicholson (Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, Game Management Section) designed the trail route and worked closely with the archeologist during the flagging process and the monitoring phase. SAS field archeologists Joel Jones, Gordon Martin, Scott Jones, and the senior author conducted the field work. Southeastern's participation was conducted under contract between SAS and the Putnam County Board of Commissioners. Under a separate contract with the same body, SAS conducted background research relating to local history and previous investigations at the Little Rock Eagle site (9PM47) and other archeological sites associated with the project area. Standard survey field methods were employed in accordance to the scope of work prepared by the Office of Historic Preservation in consultation with the principal investigator. Information on 28 sites, four isolated artifact occurrences, and more than a hundred rock piles was recorded within and near the project area.