Archaeology of the Fort Gordon Golf Course

The Central Savannah River Area of Georgia boasts a rich archaeological heritage. Although much has been done to record for future generations that which has gone before us during the several millenia in which man has been in this area, vast knowledge lies still buried in the soil. Time and rapid technological advance have caught up with and are overtaking the methodical processes involved in extracting and interpreting the cultural data in which the earth so reluctantly surrenders. The pressing demands of man for housing, highways, recreation facilities and other necessities of life have, in their fulfillment, inadvertently swept aside many of these invaluable records. Discovery of a significant aboriginal occupation site so often occurs only after irreparable damage has been done through mechanized terrain alteration. Much work has been done by professional archaeologists in this area, with the major effor expanded on the larger, more obvious sites. The smaller, seemingly unimportant records of man's past occupation and use of the area have gone virtually unnoticed or uncared about in the search for more productive ventures. Time is fast running out, if we are to succeed in the salvage for future use the irreplaceable knowledge of the past. The small, seemingly insignificant sites have their story to contribute to the book of the mysteries of our basic heritage. Professional archaeologists are spread out quite sparingly, and can hardly be present on every acre or every construction site in the 159 counties of Georgia. Their valuable time must of necessity be dedicated to those larger, more complex sites requiring their services in solving a myriad of logistical, fiscal and administrative problems, over and above the technical aspects. With the foregoing in mind, our society, a volunteer, non-profit organization was formed, in an attempt to fill the gap between the full-time professional archaeologists and the rank amateur treasure-seekers and pothunters. Over eighty percent of our current members have had training at the college level in both archaeology and anthropology, and many have participated in support of major excavations throughout the CSRA and in other parts of the country. Interest in the archaeology of the Spirit Creek area has been ever-present. Out society had superficial knowledge of some use by prehistoric people of the upper portions of the drainage in the Fort Gordon area, though occasional reports of scattered surface finds by military personnel from the Fort. There is no accounting for what may have been surface-collected by some of the many thousands of men who have undergone field training in the area, or by civilian residents of the area prior to government purchase of the land. At best, our prior knowledge of what we might find was purely speculative. When the proposed construction of a new eighteen-hole golf course in the Spirit Creek area of Fort Gordon became a fact of general knowledge in June 1973, our then president contacted MG Harley L. Moore, Jr., then commanding general, to obtain permission to accomplish archaeological investigation and salvage in the areas to be disturbed by the gold course construction. MG Moore graciously welcomed our effort and granted us permission within reasonable controls, so as not to hamper construction of this worthwhile recreation facility no interfere with the military training of the Fort. At the ouset there was some considerable concern, in at least one archaeological circle, that permitting out society to do this work was tantamount to allowing a plumber's apprentice perform a frontal lobotomy. With all due respect to professional archaeologists, plumbers and surgeons alike, we feel that we have accomplished our mission in a truly professional-like manner. We have salvaged what we could of that data which would have otherwise been lost. We have recorded for the future that smidgen of knowledge which was stored in the golf course area, as set down in this report. We have expended a lot of freely-given time and effort with no hope of reward, fame, fortune, or treasures. Our effort was based on speculation only, in an area not really expected to produce any significant finds. In the final analysis, the negative significance of our effort reveals its own significance, in that we now know, as do others who may care, that the proposed fold course at Fort Gordon, which will soon become a significant part of the cultural environment of the area, was not constructed in a manner which resulted in destruction and disregard of any important aspect of the cultural heritage of the Central Savannah River Area.