Mitigation Plan and Research Design Archaeological Data Recovery Excavations at Site 9CK9, Cherokee County, Georgia

This document constitutes a plan for the mitigation of adverse impacts to 9CK9, a National Register-eligible archaeological site located near Canton in Cherokee County, Georgia. This site is to be impacted by a proposed shopping center construction project that is under review by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Permit Number 940012920). Due to the nature of the planned construction and the site's location adjacent to a major highway interchange, avoidance and preservation in place are not feasible mitigation alternatives in this instance. Consequently, this mitigation plan includes a research design for data recovery excavations at 9CK9. The implementation of this research design will recover data relevant to a wide range of research questions, and result in the mitigation of adverse impacts to the significant archaeological resources at this important site. Garrow & Associates believes that the research design and technical approaches outlined here represent the most technically acceptable, yet cost-effective approach to recovering the resources present at 9CK9. The investigations proposed will be consistent with Archeology and Historic Preservation: Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's Handbook Treatment of Archaeological Properties. The investigations will also be conducted in accordance with the Georgia Abandoned Cemeteries and Burial Grounds Act (§ 36-72). The research design is organized in the following manner. Chapter II provides a brief overview of the project setting and the investigations previously conducted at 9CK9, and contains a discussion of potential alternatives to data recovery excavations. Chapter ill presents the research questions to be addressed by the project. Chapter IV discusses the field and laboratory methods proposed for the investigations. Chapter V provides information on key project personnel, and Chapter VI provides detailed information on project scheduling and reporting. The research design concludes with a list of references cited and an Appendix containing resumes of all key personnel.