The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology Reports digital collection contains reports of archaeological and documentary research in the greater Chattanooga area and the Southeastern United States.
Materials in the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology Reports digital collection are currently under review for compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
While under review, materials are available for access upon request. Please review the UTC NAGPRA Policy and send inquiries to the .
If you have questions about this series, please Director, Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology.
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A documentary survey of a one block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee : Broad to Chestnut, Twelfth to Thirteenth Streets
R. Bruce Council
At the request of the Cultural Resources Program of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has prepared this brief documentary survey of a one-block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The purpose of the research is to define potential targets for detailed historical research and archaeological testing within a parcel owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The project area is bounded on the west by Chestnut Street, on the east by Broad Street, on the south by Thirteenth Street, and on the north by Twelfth. This document does not represent an exhaustive historical treatment of the block and its residential, commercial and industrial tenants, but rather is a brief survey of historic land uses as gleaned from readily accessible documents. The principal sources examined consisted of city plat books which illustrated the character and precise location of improvements on the property. The objective of the research is to provide data pertinent to an assessment of the archaeological research potential of the property. Consequently, there is a temporal bias in the periods researched, with very recent uses of the property receiving less attention. The research specifically aims at estimating sub-surface survivals of archaeological features or deposits that would contribute to an organized body of information about past urban adaptations or historic technologies. No field investigation was undertaken as part of this project.
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A report on archaeological monitoring of the Ross-Meehan Property, Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
Archaeological monitoring of below-grade construction and grading activities at the site of Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was undertaken by the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, on behalf of the Stadium Corporation, Chattanooga. Situated on a 35-acre tract bounded more or less by Main Street, Chestnut Street, 20th Street/Riverfront Parkway, U.S. 27 and Carter Street, the project area was impacted by the construction of parking lots funded in part by federal ISTEA funds. Excavation of the bowl housing the below-street-grade playing field of the stadium was not part of the impact area covered by this contract and report. The Institute was not engaged in monitoring during actual demolition of standing architecture on the site, which resulted in some sub-surface disturbance in the removal of footings and foundation pads. Construction management of potentially toxic industrial soils from industries formerly occupying the site dictated that fills generated during the excavation of the semisubterranean playing field bowl be redeposited on site in the location of all proposed parking lots, resulting in site aggradation rather than degradation or lowering of ground surface contours. Subsequent excavations for landscaping purposes or the emplacement of buried utilities generally did not penetrate the layer of redeposited site fills. Excavations around standing historic architecture on the site, including two foundry buildings constructed in the 1870s, (and identified collectively as the Ross-Meehan structures), were monitored, but these excavations revealed only shallow industrial waste accumulation on top of underlying sterile clays. In contrast, deep deposits of foundry waste were present in the parking lot areas west of the Ross-Meehan foundry buildings, but the deeper and older waste deposits were not significantly exposed by construction activities. It is concluded that no archaeological deposits or features potentially eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places were impacted during grading and construction activities associated with the creation of parking lots for Finley Stadium in Chattanooga.
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Photographic documentation of the TVA Haney Building Parcel : A supplement to a documentary survey of a one block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee: Broad to Chestnut, Third to Fourth Streets
R. Bruce Council
The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has prepared this photographic documentation of the Haney Building in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the request of the Cultural Resources Program of the Tennessee Valley Authority. This documentation is being done to comply with review procedures in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act as codified at 36 CFR 800 (51 FR 31115, September 2, 1986).
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Shiner's Trench : recycling the archaeological record at Fort Frederica
Nicholas Honerkamp
Transforming a sow’s ear into a silk purse, a unique educational program has been instituted at Fort Frederica National Monument through the combined efforts of the National Park Service and the Glynn County (Georgia) School System. Following the discovery of a modern trench backfilled with colonial artifacts from previous excavations at Frederica, the National Park Service developed an educational program highlighting colonial archaeology for Glynn County fourth grade students and their teachers. The program consists of a training workshop for teachers, one day of excavation by each class, artifact analysis in the classroom, and student-designed artifact displays. The trench is virtually a renewable archaeological resource: it is scheduled to be refilled with the recently-excavated artifacts this year, and excavations will continue indefinitely. Since burying artifact collections in lieu of curation is a surprising procedure to most contemporary archaeologists, the genesis of Shiner’s Trench is reviewed in this paper. An overview of the teaching program is then presented that assesses the strengths and weaknesses of a remarkable cooperative venture in historical archaeology education.
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A documentary survey of a one block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee : Broad to Chestnut, Third to Fourth Streets
R. Bruce Council
At the request of the Cultural Resources Program of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has prepared this brief documentary survey of a one-block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The purpose of the research was to define potential targets for detailed historical research and archaeological testing within a parcel owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The project area, bounded by Chestnut Street on the west, Broad Street on the east, Third Street on the north, and Fourth Street on the south, is currently occupied largely by the Tennessee Valley Authority's Haney Building. This document does not represent an exhaustive historical treatment of the block and its residential, commercial and industrial tenants, but rather is a brief survey of historic land uses as gleaned from readily accessible documents. The principal sources examined consisted of city plat books which illustrated the character and precise location of improvements on the property. The objective of the research is to provide data pertinent to an assessment of the archaeological research potential of the property. Consequently, there is a temporal bias in the periods researched, with very recent uses of the property receiving less attention. The research specifically aims at estimating sub-surface survivals of archaeological features or deposits that would contribute to an organized body of information about past urban adaptations or historic technologies.
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A documentary survey of a one block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee : Carter to Fort, Twelfth to Thirteenth Streets
R. Bruce Council
At the request of the Cultural Resources Program of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has prepared this brief documentary survey of a one-block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The purpose of the research was to define potential targets for detailed historical research and archaeological testing within a parcel owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The project area, bounded by Carter Street on the west, Fort Street on the east, Twelfth Street on the north, and Thirteenth Street on the south, is the proposed site of an expansion of the Chattanooga Trade and Convention Center immediately to the north. This document does not represent an exhaustive historical treatment of the block and its residential, commercial and industrial tenants, but rather is a brief survey of historic land uses as gleaned from readily accessible documents. The principal sources examined consisted of city plat books which illustrated the character and precise location of improvements on the property. The objective of the research is to provide data pertinent to an assessment of the archaeological research potential of the property. Consequently, there is a temporal bias in the periods researched, with very recent uses of the property receiving less attention. Moreover, as the standing architecture on the property has already been demolished to ground level, the research specifically aims at estimating sub-surface survivals of archaeological features or deposits that would contribute to an organized body of information about past urban adaptations or historic technologies.
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A documentary survey of a one block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee : Chestnut to Fort, Twelfth to Thirteenth Streets
R. Bruce Council
At the request of the Cultural Resources Program of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has prepared this brief documentary survey of a one-block parcel in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The purpose of the research is to define potential targets for detailed historical research and archaeological testing within a parcel owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The project area, bounded by Chestnut Street on the east, Fort Street on the west, West Twelfth Street on the north, and West Thirteenth Street on the south, is the proposed site of an expansion of the Chattanooga Trade and Convention Center immediately to the north. This block is currently occupied by the office building and parking lots of the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association (TVPPA). This document does not represent an exhaustive historical treatment of the block and its residential, commercial and industrial tenants, but rather is a brief survey of historic land uses as gleaned from readily accessible documents. The principal sources examined consisted of city plat books which illustrated the character and precise location of improvements on the property. The objective of the research is to provide data pertinent to an assessment of the archaeological research potential of the property. Consequently, there is a temporal bias in the periods researched, with very recent uses of the property receiving less attention. The research specifically aims at estimating sub-surface survivals of archaeological features or deposits that would contribute to an organized body of information about past urban adaptations or historic technologies. No field investigation was undertaken as part of this project.
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A phase I archaeological survey of the proposed Tennessee Riverpark, Battery Place extension
R. Bruce Council
Interpretive historical research suggests that along the proposed right of way of the Battery Place extension of the Tennessee Riverpark Spanish explorer Tristan de Luna y Arellano, in company with Coosa Indians, raided two towns of the Napochie chiefdom in 1560. Cherokee Indian internment camps may have been present in the project area during the Removal, 1835-1838, and burials of Cherokees may be present. Confederate soldiers also may have been interred in the project area in 1862-63, although these remains were nominally reinterred in Citizens Cemetery in 1867. The project area was utilized for industrial purposes in the late 19th century, principally sawmilling and brickmaking enterprises sited on the surrounding higher elevations. In the early 19th century, residential use of the higher portions of the project area took place. Modern road building and creation of the Manker Patten Tennis Center and Scrappy Moore Field have substantially modified the terrain to be impacted by the proposed construction. Pedestrian survey of the corridor revealed obvious soil profile alteration and/or truncation over much of the surveyed route. Results from screened, hand-excavated, 50cm-square test pit evidence disturbed soil profiles dominated by modem historic demolition debris. In lieu of more extensive, machine-assisted sub-surface testing, archaeological monitoring of initial site clearing and grading operations may be advisable.
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A preliminary archaeological reconnaissance of optioned properties in Tiftonia, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
In response to a request by RiverValley Partners, Inc., the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (hereafter, the "Institute") prepared a budget and technical proposal to conduct a preliminary archaeological reconnaissance of cultural resources in a 755-acre tract of land situated in Lookout Valley near the township of Tiftonia, Tennessee. RiverValley Partners has obtained a purchase option on these lands now currently in private ownership and is conducting feasibility studies for a mixed commercial and residential development. The purpose of the archaeological reconnaissance is to provide a broad, preliminary cultural resource overview of the property for planning input. This work does not constitute a Phase I archaeological survey as defined by the Tennessee Division of Archaeology for purposes of compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
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Archaeological monitoring of construction of a six-inch force main sewer over Lookout Creek, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted archaeological monitoring of trenching activities associated with the construction of a six-inch diameter force main sewer pipeline crossing Lookout Creek, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee at Mile 0.7 above the left bank of the Tennessee River. The sewer main extended from the Lora Lee Knitting Mill off Cummings Highway north and west across Lookout Creek for a total extant of about 4130 feet / 1260 meters. The monitoring was conducted for the Hamilton County Engineering Department and was required by the Regulatory Branch of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Historical Commission. The Institute performed continuous monitoring of approximately 1880 feet / 570 meters, more or less, of the proposed route of the sewer beginning near the Lora Lee Knitting Mill and running north to the crossing of Lookout Creek. Portions of the sewer trenching on the north/west bank of the creek were also monitored, but coverage of this 2250 feet / 685 meters (more or less) of proposed sewer line on the north/west riverbank was not continuous; this segment of proposed sewer largely followed an existing roadbed. Monitoring on the north/west bank focused on the vicinity of an historic homestead and Civil War battleground. Opportunistic surface collections from the trench spoil yielded 32 fragments of aboriginal lithics from the Lora Lee tract. In addition, one aboriginal ceramic fragment and four pieces of a mineral specimen were recovered. No cultural materials were collected from the trenching north/west of Lookout Creek. In no portion of the observed sewer trench were significant aboriginal or historic features encountered.
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Archaeological testing at 40HA84, Audubon Acres, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Nicholas Honerkamp
During May and June of 1993 and 1994, a UTC field school conducted test excavations at 40HA84 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Sixty square meters of surface area were screened using 1/4- inch mesh, resulting in the discovery of 40 prehistoric features extending below the plow zone. Several postholes and other features contained 13769 prehistoric artifacts, while the plow zone contained 21704 artifacts. The vast majority of these remains are associated with the late Mississippian period. Two historic glass beads and one clay bead were found in the plow zone, while a single clay bead was recovered from a shallow rectangular pit containing exclusively shell tempered ceramics. According to Marvin Smith, these beads have 16th-century attributions, although they are also found in later contexts. Features included a small clay hearth, 32 postholes, several miscellaneous pits, and three burials (one of which had been partially looted) that were filled primarily with large burned daub fragments and charcoal. One burial pit also contained two Madison projectile points, dating to the Dallas or Mouse Creek periods, while an apparent undisturbed burial pit produced several human deciduous teeth. These features are believed to represent infant/juvenile internments in the interior of a late prehistoric winter house, as they are enclosed by an incomplete line of post holes. Additional research is needed to determine the full size and shape of the structure formed by the postholes and daub concentrations, and to enlarge the systematically collected artifact sample from this site. The discovery of extensive amounts of burned daub and the absence of a rebuilding phase for this structure indicate that it was abandoned after it burned. Together with the preponderance of late prehistoric ceramic and lithic artifact types and the four beads that probably date to the last half of the 16th century, this constitutes indirect support for Charles Hudson's (1988) identification of 40HA84 as the Napochie village that was attacked and burned by a combined force of Coosa warriors and a contingent of the Luna expedition in 1560.
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Whither Coosa in Chattanooga?
Nicholas Honerkamp and R. Bruce Council
As originally defined by Hudson et al. (1985), Coosa was a 16th-century chiefdom extending from southeastern Tennessee into eastern Alabama. An important component in the construction of Coosa as a paramount chiefdom is the identification of a Napochie village at the Audubon Acres Site (40HA84) in Chattanooga An overview of the results of research and looting at this and other local sites where 16th-century Spanish artifacts have been recovered is applied to the Coosa question.
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An Archaeological survey of the proposed outdoor drama Amphitheater Site, Moccasin Bend, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Lawrence Alexander and R. Bruce Council
In April and May, 1994, researchers with the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted a Phase I archaeological survey of a 40.2 acre tract of land on Moccasin Bend, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. Owned by the State of Tennessee and being a portion of the Moccasin Bend State Mental Health Center, the study parcel was the proposed site of an outdoor drama amphitheater facility to be built and operated by Hamilton County. At the time of the survey, the study parcel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a portion of the Moccasin Bend National Register District created in 1985 to protect significant prehistoric and Civil War period archaeological sites on Moccasin Bend. Of particular importance was the inclusion in the study parcel of bivouac areas associated with a complex of Civil War gun emplacements and campsites known as Fort Whitaker, constructed by Federal troops in the fall of 1863 prior to the Battle of Lookout Mountain. While listed on the National Register, and within the boundaries of the Moccasin Bend National Historic Landmark District, the project area had not been examined by systematic surface reconnaissance in combination with sub-surface testing. Three recorded archaeological sites - 40HA134, 40HA394 and 40HA395 - were wholly or partially subsumed in the study area. Field techniques employed in the project included pedestrian survey and surface collection, structured backhoe trench excavation, metal detector scanning, systematic screened power auger coring, systematic screened 50cm-square test pit excavation, opportunistic screened lm-square test pit excavation, and other hand-excavated test excavations. In the deeply-alluviated soils of the floodplain portion of the project area, systematic auger testing and trenching by backhoe revealed scattered evidence of Native American settlement. Fire-cracked rock probably deposited in the Late Archaic period, and pottery, daub fragments, and worked flint tools associated with Woodland and/or Mississippian period occupations were recovered. While the fire-cracked rock is probably the result of accumulation of camp fires along the river over several thousand years, the pottery, flint and daub suggest the presence of sedentary occupations, that is, housesites or small villages. Isolated aboriginal artifacts are also present in the Stringers Ridge portion of the project area and in the open meadow off Moccasin Bend Road. No human remains were encountered during the testing. A systematic excavation of 50cm square, hand-excavated and screened test pits over the open meadow near the highway and extending into the ravine areas of the Stringers Ridge known as "Lilly Spring Hollow" [within 40HA395] revealed a scatter of 19th and 20th century materials. While the latter artifacts are clearly associated with a housesite in Lilly Spring Hollow occupied into the 1960s, there is also domestic debris from a mid-19th century housesite that appears on a Federal military map. Military artifacts associated with the Federal occupation of Moccasin Bend are present in small quantities despite three decades of relic collecting on the site. Nearly one hundred surface features were recorded on the main tract of the project area, the bulk of these being small excavations for tents pitched on the slopes of Stringers Ridge within and around "Lilly Spring Hollow." These tent pads represent the bivouac sites of gun crews and support infantry units camped on Moccasin Bend in October and November, 1863. In addition to tent pads, other features, including abandoned roadbeds, were also mapped. Limited excavation on some of the features associate them with the Civil War, although no intensive sub-surface testing has been conducted at this time. Additional secondary testing is required in the project area to determine the extent and condition of the aboriginal remains on the floodplain; to isolate the mid-19th century domestic component in "Lilly Spring Hollow;" and to clarify the extent of Civil War bivouac areas associated with Fort Whitaker.
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An archaeological survey of the Cargill grain elevator tract, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was engaged by RiverPort Inn and Marina, Inc., of Chattanooga, to conduct a Phase I level archaeological reconnaissance on portions of a nine-acre parcel on the Tennessee River occupied by the grain elevator and storage plant of Cargill, Inc. As required by the Tennessee Historical Commission, the reconnaissance specifically included deep subsurface testing of the tract. A 25m (82') grid was superimposed on the site and every accessible or otherwise undisturbed grid intersection was cored using a power soil auger. The fill was screened for uniform artifact retrieval, and observations were made concerning soil characteristics and approximate depths of soil layers. A total of 40 auger tests were completed to depths varying from 40cm (1.5') to 1.4m (5'). The frequency distribution of artifacts, both prehistoric and historic, suggested several areas of activity on the site. Five backhoe trenches were excavated at various locations on the site to access deeplyburied cultural components and to examine site stratigraphy. None of the trenches intercepted well-developed prehistoric middens, but cultural remains were noted in deep stratigraphic contexts along the river. Surface collections and augering results confirmed the presence of a concentration of prehistoric artifacts along the crest of the riverbank in the vicinity of the conveyor belt to the barge loading facility. Surface collection of the artifacts indicated a site attributable to the Late Woodland or Hamilton Phase, a cultural period now designated the Woodland III period and dated approximately from A.D. 350 to A.D. 900. To assess whether these remains represented an intact, buried component or represented a disturbed, displaced archaeological site, a profile cut or small trench was excavated by hand near the surface artifact concentration. This profile cut revealed that a distinct and undisturbed prehistoric midden was present, and that substantial quantities of cultural material were in evidence. Portions of the soil strata were excavated by hand and the fill screened. The associated artifacts confirm that a small remnant of a Woodland III site is present, evidently the remains of a housesite situated on the crest of the river levee. The profile cut was not carried to sterile soil, and minor sherd frequencies of fabric-marked pottery also suggest possible occupation of the site in the Woodland II period dated 200 B.C. to A.D. 350. The presence of a multi-component archaeological site is possible. Human remains, specifically two phalanges or finger bones, were recovered from the Woodland III midden. The finds were identified by Craig Lahren, Assistant Medical Examiner, Hamilton County. It is not clear whether these disarticulated finds are associated with an interment otherwise preserved on the site. Limited documentary evidence suggested historic land uses in the project area were principally agricultural but included the landing of a ferry operated in the antebellum and postbellum periods, until the late 1880s. Clusters of historic artifacts were noted along the creek margins of the property, but construction of the plant evidently destroyed any organized physical remains of historic structures on the site. Secondary testing is recommended to determine if the prehistoric components present along the riverbank are eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. While the Phase I auger testing has indicated the approximate horizontal limits of the surviving Woodland III component on the site, further testing is required to determine the vertical limits of habitation along the riverbank. The secondary testing will also assist in determining if a prehistoric cemetery is present on site.
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A preliminary archaeological assessment of State Route 8, from State Route 27 to Palisades Drive, Hamilton County : archaeological input for a TDOT advance planning report
R. Bruce Council
In response to a request for proposal from Chester IDE Associates, an infrastructure design and engineering firm based in Nashville, Tennessee, a preliminary archaeological assessment has been prepared for a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) advance planning report (APR) on proposed improvements to State Route 8 from its intersection with State Route 29, (a divided, limited-access highway also known as a portion of Corridor J), north and west to its intersection with State Route 27, (or Suck Creek Road), Hamilton County, Tennessee. The length of the study corridor is 1.77 miles, and this portion of S.R. 8 is a four to five lane thoroughfare. Locally, State Route 8 is known as Signal Mountain Boulevard and serves as the principal access route to Chattanooga and environs for the northwestern incorporated areas of Chattanooga and most of the population of Signal Mountain, an incorporated township on the top of the Cumberland Plateau. The scope of work for the Archaeological Input report for the APR was described as follows: Review site survey files at the Division of Archaeology, report any recorded sites on a quadrangle map, field review project, and identify high probability areas. Prepare brief report (one to two pages), describe terrain and type of land use along project, and highlight sensitive areas. Include topographic maps. This report does not constitute a Phase I level archaeological survey. In addition to examining data on previously-recorded archaeological sites, two field inspections of the project area were made, the first being in the company of planners from Chester IDE Associates and personnel from the Tennessee Department of Transportation. In the course of this first field review on 22 October 1993, a meeting was held with the city manager of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, outlining various issues to be addressed in the APR.
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A preliminary archaeological assessment of State Route 8, from State Route 29 to State Route 27, Hamilton County; archaeological input for a TDOT advance planning report
R. Bruce Council
In response to a request for proposal from Chester IDE Associates, an infrastructure design and engineering firm based in Nashville, Tennessee, a preliminary archaeological assessment has been prepared for a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) advance planning report (APR) on proposed improvements to State Route 8 from its intersection with State Route 27, (or Suck Creek Road), to the intersection with Palisades Drive in the township of Signal Mountain, Hamilton County, Tennessee. The length of the study corridor is 3.06 miles, and this portion of S.R. 8 is a two to three lane thoroughfare. Locally, State Route 8 is known as Signal Mountain Boulevard and serves as the principal access route to Chattanooga and environs for the northwestern incorporated areas of Chattanooga and most of the population of Signal Mountain. The scope of work for the Archaeological Input report for the APR was described as follows: Review site survey files at the Division of Archaeology, report any recorded sites on a quadrangle map, field review project, and identify high probability areas. Prepare brief report (one to two pages), describe terrain and type of land use along project, and highlight sensitive areas. Include topographic maps. This report does not constitute a Phase I level archaeological survey. In addition to examining data on previously-recorded archaeological sites, several field inspections of the project area were made, the first being in the company of planners from Chester IDE Associates and personnel from the Tennessee Department of Transportation. In the course of this first field review on 22 October 1993, a meeting was held with the city manager of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, outlining various issues to be addressed in the APR.
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Archaeological survey and monitoring of the combined sewer overflow control facility, Ross's Landing Park, Chattanooga, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was engaged in December, 1990, by Downs Engineering, Inc., on behalf of the City of Chattanooga, to conduct an archaeological reconnaissance of the route of a proposed combined sewer overflow (CSO) conduit extending over 650 meters through Ross's Landing Park on the south bank of the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On the determination of the Tennessee Historical Commission, the potential for significant historic period archaeological remains within the proposed sewer project was deemed high. An archaeological reconnaissance of the project area and/or mitigative measures was required. The Institute conducted a limited backhoe testing program in Ross's Landing Park on December 11 and 12, 1990, resulting in the excavation of four backhoe-excavated search trenches. The location of the trenches was conditioned by the substantial depth of modern redeposited fills over buried historic horizons and the need for large areas of undeveloped ground on which to place backhoe spoil. Without cutting access roads in the park, or disturbing buried utility lines, no further testing was feasible. A progress report on the backhoe testing program was submitted to the sponsor in December, 1990, outlining the results of the four test pits and the difficulty encountered in sampling deeply buried historic components without more extensive trenching and necessary removal of modern access roads and utilities. In lieu of further programmed testing by backhoe, the Institute recommended monitoring of the CSO trenching during construction, at which time logistical considerations pertaining to continued park use could be met. Daily monitoring of the trench excavation by R. B. Council began November 20, 1991, and continued until February 21, 1992, on which date periodic inspection of the site by N. Honerkamp continued until completion of the CSO conduit in the fall of 1992. Numerous architectural and structural features were exposed in the excavation of the conduit, as well as scattered artifacts principally of an industrial character. Of particular interest was a natural ravine running through the Landing that had been backfilled in the 1870s and 1880s by debris from a sawmill and furniture manufacturing plant. No resources eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places were encountered. Site impacts in the late 1960s and early 1970s had seriously disturbed the area of Ross's Landing Park, leaving only scattered finds of limited extent.
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An archaeological survey of the proposed lower Amnicola Parallel Interceptor Sewer, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
In January and February, 1991, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted an archaeological survey of the proposed right-of-way of a sanitary sewer designated the Lower Amnicola Parallel Interceptor Sewer. Sponsored by the City of Chattanooga and coordinated by the engineering consulting firm Hensley-Schmidt Inc., the survey was designed to assess the sewer's potential impact on buried cultural resources eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Due to the presence of modem fills of substantial depth throughout most of the pipeline route, the proposed systematic program of screened auger tests was replaced by a backhoe search trench testing program. Twenty-eight backhoe search trenches were excavated at 50m intervals along 1525m (5,000') of right-of-way, providing a deep, stratigraphic reconnaissance of the proposed sewer centerline. Four of the units yielded aboriginal cultural material, and three of these occurrences were of single artifacts. Only one locality indicated the presence of an archaeological site component, and it was thought to be adjacent to, rather than in, the sewer path. No additional testing was recommended.
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Excavations in the Bluff Furnace casting shed: the 1991 testing program
R. Bruce Council
In November and December 1991, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology undertook a limited testing program in the casting shed area of the antebellum blast furnace site, Bluff Furnace (40HA221). The objectives of the testing were to obtain information concerning the southern limits of the casting shed and to explore additional areas of the casting shed floor. Limestone piers exposed along the south wall line of the casting shed indicate that this wall line was not parallel to the north wall of the shed, and that a doorway or similar opening was present south and west of the furnace base. Partially reduced iron in a pit feature near the wall piers may be interpreted as a run-off area during the blast failure of November 1860. A test pit in the west central area of the casting shed further exposed a brick footing partially uncovered during excavations in the shed in 1983. Structural similarities with a brick footing exposed in 1981 suggest the brick features were elements of a brick partition wall associated with a room in the northwest corner of the casting shed. This room was probably inexistence during the charcoal-fired furnace operations prior to 1859, but had been abandoned when the coke-fired furnace operations began in 1860. A casting gate present in the casting sand level, found with a concentration of splash iron, indicated some direct iron casting in boxed molds or casting flasks was taking place in the final period of the furnace.
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Inspection and historical documentation of the Earnest Mill Site, Nolichucky River, State Rout 351, Greene County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
In response to a solicitation by the Environmental Planning Office, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), the author inspected the visible remains of the Earnest Mill Site adjacent to the Nolichucky River Bridge on SR 351 in Greene County, Tennessee. Site-specific historical documentation of the mill seat was also conducted. The purpose of the inspection and documentary research was to provide data pertinent to a determination of the potential for significant archaeological remains associated with a grist and flour mill site threatened by a TDOT bridge replacement project then in the planning stage. TDOT environmental planning reports on the bridge replacement project by Law (1991) and Carver (1991) provided some data on the Earnest Mill Site, but the mill was not the subject of a detailed historical treatment at this preliminary planning stage. The author was authorized on July 31 to conduct an inspection of the site, and was subsequently authorized on August 17 to conduct site-specific archival research on the mill. Inspection of the mill site near Chuckey took place on August 12, and primary historical data on the mill was collected in Greeneville on August 24 and 25.
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Phase II archaeological research at the Radisson Hotel site, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia
Nicholas Honerkamp and Briana Agranat
During the fall of 1989, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, performed an archaeological survey of the Radisson Hotel tract on the Savannah riverfront for the Columbia Sussex Corporation. Concurrently, Panamerican Consultants, Inc., of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, performed a marine survey of the shoreline area. These surveys were performed on a 3.68 acre tract of land just east of Emmet Park in downtown Savannah. The surveys were required by the Department of Natural Resources, State of Georgia, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers to determine the environmental and cultural resource impacts of the proposed construction. Agency review requirements took into account the extensive maritime history of the site and the fact that submerged as well as terrestrial resources might be harmed by hotel construction activities or by construction of the associated 1200-footlongriverwalk corridor along the shoreline.
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An archaeological survey of the proposed Radisson Hotel construction site and River Walk Corridor, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia
R. Bruce Council
During October, 1989, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted a Phase I archaeological reconnaissance survey of a tract on the east side of Savannah, Georgia, for the Columbia Sussex Corporation. As the site of a proposed hotel and river walk complex accessing the Savannah River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Natural Resources, State of Georgia, required cultural resource testing to determine if sites eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places would be impacted by the proposed construction. The site of the proposed hotel was adjacent to the eastern boundary of the City of Savannah National Register District.
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The Hammer-Taylor House site : archaeological testing of site 40WG60, Johnson City, Washington County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
In a project funded by the U. S. Department of Transportation - Federal Highways Administration and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), conducted archaeological testing of historic site 40WG60 surrounding a residential structure designated the Hammer-Taylor House. Situated off State Route 34 on the northeastern outskirts of Johnson City, Washington County, Tennessee, the architecturally-unique Hammer-Taylor House was to be rehabilitated on a new site pending highway expansion which would engulf its original setting. The archaeological research was conducted in July, 1989, under a standing agreement between TDOT and the Transportation Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The research was carried out in response to a request for proposal from the Environmental Planning Office, TDOT, Nashville. The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, responded to the request-for proposal (RFP) with a technical proposal and budget for the conduct of secondary archaeological testing on the historic occupation site surrounding the Hammer-Taylor house. A contract to conduct the testing was awarded to the Institute, and an excavation permit was issued by the Division of Archaeology, Department of Conservation. Consisting of a single pen two-story log cabin built in the period 1790-1806 joined under one roof with a Federal style double pen two-story brick structure built about 1844, the Hammer-Taylor house was scheduled for relocation and rehabilitation. The house proper was determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and therefore the surrounding archaeological site was required under 36 CFR 60.6 to be tested for significance. A program of subsurface testing was developed to intercept closed context features such as wells, cisterns, and privies, in addition to sampling sheet refuse deposits around the immediate environs of the house proper. Archaeological fieldwork in July, 1989, involved hand excavation of eleven test pits situated within a uniform site grid and vertically controlled by semi-permanent transit stations. The fill in approximately half of the eleven test units was sampled by 1/4" screening for uniform artifact recovery, while in the remaining units, artifacts were shovel sorted. Several weeks prior to the testing, two modern additions on the rear and side of the house were removed by heavy machinery, resulting in severe subsurface disturbances (in the form. of truncation and rutting) on three sides of the structure. Excavations in the rear of the house documented truncation of soil horizons after c. 1968, while at the southwest corner of the house site, 19th century sheet refuse deposits were intercepted. Two 20th century pipe lines evidently connected the house with a natural spring south of the structure. A cistern in the rear of the house lot was found to contain debris from the last half of the 20th century, although its construction may have occurred early in the 19th century. An unlined privy vault was also noted, and contained refuse discarded after 1968. A sample of the original builders' trench to the brick unit of the house yielded insufficient numbers of datable artifacts to refine the historically-indicated construction date of 1844. Further controlled hand excavation on the site was not recommended in view of profile truncation and the general absence of undisturbed sheet refuse deposits. Instead, it was recommended that during and after the relocation' of the house, the area around the house be stripped by machine and that documentation and excavation of closed-context features be carried out. This salvage operation would occur in the context of excavations associated with archaeological clearance of the road excavations required to transport the Hammer-Taylor house to its new site. Artifacts recovered during the testing program and all primary site documentation and analysis records will be curated in Nashville by the Division of Archaeology.
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Limited excavation of a Dallas Period Mississippian housesite at the Heritage Place Site, 40HA210, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council and Nicholas Honerkamp
The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted secondary testing and limited salvage excavations at the Heritage Place Site, 40HA210, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, in April 1985. Sponsored by the Stone Fon Land Company, the excavations were predicated by imminent construction impact on a parcel of land adjoining the right bank of the Tennessee River at mile 465. In seeking a permit to access the river, the developer was required by the Anny Corps of Engineers to conduct a survey of the property to determine if archaeological resources would be threatened by construction. The Institute was engaged by the Stone Fon Land Company to conduct a survey of the construction site. The area tested consisted of a strip of broad river terrace 400m (1300') wide and 1100m (3600') long. Surface collections from the site indicated the presence of a variety of historic and prehistoric occupations on the propeny identified as the Hampton and Marsh tracts. An archaeological survey of the Heritage Place Site in November 1984 demonstrated the presence of Woodland and Mississippian cultural debris on the site, and in the course of systematic subsurface testing a burial was partially exposed. Funded by a donation, the Institute returned to the site in April, 1985, and conducted a limited-scale secondary testing program on the site, concentrating on the excavation of portions of a wattle and daub house structore and the salvage of two burials. Excavation of the housesite revealed a series of charred wooden posts, one modelled-rim hearth, two shallow pits, three postholes, and two inhumations. The outline of the house was not fully exposed. Radiocarbon date detenninations on charcoal samples from the house structure indicated construction about 1350 A.D., associating the occupation of the house with the Dallas Period of the Mississippian Tradition. Structural evidence and the artifact assemblage conforms to the Dallas attribution.