Testing and Evaluations of the 84 Sites and Reconnaissance of the Islands and Cleveland Property, Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake, Savannah River, Georgia and South Carolina

As part of cultural resource management efforts to find, record, and evaluate archeological remains in the area of the Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake on the Savannah River in South Carolina and Georgia, the Institute of Archeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, conducted surveys under contract with Interagency Archeological Services Atlanta, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, United States Department of Interior. The major survey conducted for this project was done by Taylor and Smith (1978). This survey and report provided the majority of data pertaining to the location and nature of prehistoric and historic archeological sites in the proposed reservoir. Because of the temporal and fiscal parameters surrounding that survey, it was not possible at that time to evaluate as thoroughly as desired certain prehistoric and historic sites encountered. In particular, many sites were not subsurface tested due to time and labor limitations. Accordingly, in August 1978, Interagency Archeological Services prepared a scope of work which identified 84 sites (Figure 1) drawn from the original population of over 490 sites evaluated by Taylor and Smith (1978), which needed additional information. Under the direction of co-principal investigators Dr. Robert L. Stephenson and Richard L. Taylor, the Institute agreed to undertake further evaluation of these sites in a proposal submitted in September 1978. In October 1978, a contract was signed by both Interagency Archeological Services and the Institute setting forth the goals and procedures for this testing program. According to the contract [C-5817(79)], a preliminary review draft of the final report was to be submitted by 30 July 1980, which was to describe methods and results of fieldwork and laboratory analysis. By 30 December, 1980, a final report that addressed the Interagency Archeological Services review comments was to be submitted. Fieldwork on the the 84 sites under the direction of Richard L. Taylor began 9 October 1978 and terminated sometime in March, 1979. In the same month, Taylor prepared a proposal for reconnaissance survey of the islands and the Cleveland property located below the 477-foot contour. These lands had not been surveyed during the previous surveys by Taylor and Smith (1978). Fieldwork began on 19 March 1979 for the island reconnaissance. Fieldwork for the islands and Cleveland property was terminated 18 April 1979. All work had been completed on these lands except for islands that could only be reached on Sundays when water was not being released from the Hartwell Dam. The findings of the surveys done on the Cleveland property and the islands were to be reported within the time schedules of the parent contract [C-5817(79)] for which these later surveys were appended through a change order (No. 1).