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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Archaeological research at 40HA65, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Nicholas Honerkamp
In compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (36 CFR 800/51 FR 31115, September 2, 1986) an archaeological survey of part of the Citico Site was undertaken during December and January of 1990 by the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (hereafter "the Institute"). The project sponsor was the City of Chattanooga. Part of this well-known Mississippian site, called the Citico Site and designated as 40HA65 in the Tennessee State Site Files, was scheduled for development that would take two forms: (1) a proposed 48" sewer main pipeline that was to be placed next to an existing line and (2) the construction of an associated pumping station. Site 40HA120, a Cherokee interment camp, was also listed as endangered by this construction. The hookup of a pipeline on the right bank of the Tennessee River at Mile 465.1 is part of this same project, and it threatens 40HA210, a multicomponent prehistoric site. Archaeological surveys of all potentially effected areas were recommended by the Tennessee Historical Commission to determine if undisturbed cultural deposits associated with the previously recorded or currently unknown sites were present. Under the direction of Dr. Nicholas Honerkamp, the Institute was contracted by the City to carry out this survey. On the left side of the Tennessee River the project area encompasses a 350 m by 10 m linear strip extending from the east bank of Citico Creek to an area of woods just west of a present pumping station; this latter area of low, marshy woods was also included in the survey. The area surveyed on the right side of the river consists of a 12 by 4 m parcel (see Figure 1 for general project vicinities). All areas have been extensively developed over the years. For 40HA65, destruction and disturbance of portions of the site have occurred from the construction of Riverside Drive, extensive mining for clay, construction of the Tennessee-American Water Company facilities, and a continuing series of looting episodes over more than a century. However, the exact boundaries of this site have never been firmly established, leaving open the possibility that intact remnants of the site exist within the project area. Given the long and tragic history of destruction and shoddy excavation at the Citico Site, any bit of evidence associated with the vanished mound and/or village would be an invaluable addition, and this consideration probably entered into the Historical Commission's survey recommendation. 40HA120 was defined exclusively on the basis of vague documentary information and never located on the ground, but it is indicated as being in the near vicinity of the project area. Equally vague is the southern boundary of 40HA210, which may be present in the small area slated for the sewer hookup.
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Archaeological testing of the Cedine Mound, Rhea County, Tennessee
Nicholas Honerkamp
A small prehistoric mound located in Rhea County, Tennessee, was tested prior to its removal due to construction of a dining facility at the Cedine Bible Mission Camp near Spring City, Rhea County, Tennessee. Under the direction of Dr. Nicholas Honerkamp, two weeks of fieldwork were carried out in May, 1989, by students enrolled in a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Archaeological Field School. Controlled excavation of 14 square meters in the central area of the mound revealed evidence of previous excavation in the form of a large pit dug to the premound surface. Included in the fill of this pit was a high frequency of mussel shells and several large slabs of limestone; two limestone-tempered ceramic fragments and small amounts of charcoal were also recovered. Apparently the initiating burial or burials and accompanying grave goods (if any) had been removed, and the looting pit had been quickly backfilled. Based on its location and assumed method of construction, this feature is thought to be associated with the Hamilton Mortuary Pattern described by Patricia E. Cole (1975).
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An archaeological survey of the proposed water reservoir on Scott, Holywater, and Sewanee Creeks, Grundy County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
Nicholas Honerkamp, Director of the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was contacted by Hendon Engineering Associates, Birmingham, and asked to submit a technical proposal and bid to perform an archaeological survey on a tract of land to be impacted by construction of a proposed water reservoir for the municipality of Tracy City, Grundy County, Tennessee. The archaeological assessment was instigated by the State of Tennessee, Department of Conservation, Division of Archaeology. The State required that prior to final design of the proposed dam that the areas to be potentially impacted be subjected to an archaeological survey to determine the nature, distribution, and significance of prehistoric and historic cultural resources present. As a qualified archaeologist recognized by the state, Honerkamp was approached to submit a technical research proposal and budget for the needed archaeological survey. Honerkamp was awarded the project and undertook the research under a personal services contract. The author was engaged by Honerkamp to participate in the field survey and produce the final report. After completion of the draft final report, the project was converted at the request of the sponsor to a state contract with the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
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A phase I archaeological survey of a proposed 6" force main sewer route over Lookout Creek, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
At the request of the Hamilton County Engineering Department, through their consultants Piedmont Olson Hensley, the Jefffey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (hereafter, the Institute), prepared a technical proposal and budget to perform a Phase I archaeological survey of portions of a proposed six-inch force main sewer that would cross Lookout Creek near Tiftonia. Passing through the federally-controlled pond of Nickajack Lake as it extends up Lookout Creek from the nearby Tennessee River, the proposed sewer route was reviewed by the Regulatory Branch of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Historical Commission. These agencies determined that an archaeological reconnaissance of part of the proposed route was necessary to determine potential impacts on cultural resources, consonant with public law.
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Ross's Landing at Chattanooga : a cultural resource history of the Chattanooga waterfront
R. Bruce Council
As it was 150 years ago, Ross's Landing is once more the center of attention in the community more commonly known by the name Chattanooga. The historical identity of the city is rooted in one particular place, a river crossing where two nations met early in the 19th century. Beginning in the late 1950s, the physical landscape of the city core has undergone radical transformations forever altering the appearance of the oldest parts of Chattanooga. Perhaps also lost amid modern demolition and construction is the memory of the cultural landscape of the last century.
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The Tennessee Riverpark excavations: Archaeological testing at sites 40HA102 and 40HA233, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
Secondary archaeological testing was undertaken by the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, at two prehistoric sites in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. The Fishing Center Site, 40HA102, and the Fairgrounds Site, 40HA233, were multi-component aboriginal occupations on the left (south) bank of the Tennessee River at about mile 468. Testing was predicated by the imminent construction of a public recreational facility known as the Tennessee Riverpark. On site 40HA102, the secondary testing was escalated into data recovery operations. Site 40HA102 evidenced occupations from the Middle Archaic to Mississippian periods, with principal habitation occurring during the Woodland DI, Mississippian I, and Mississippian III periods. A backhoe search trench revealed site stratigraphy and exposed two Archaic hearths situated near the crest and on the frontslope of an alluvial terrace. Uncorrected radiocarbon dates on the two features were 2460 B.C. and 2870 B.C., assigning them to the early portion of the Late Archaic period. When corrected after Damon et al. (1974), calendar dates of 3120 B.C. and 3610 B.C. are obtained, placing the features in the late Middle Archaic time range. Excavation of twelve hand-excavated test units ranging in size from lm by 2m to 2m by 3m provided data on horizontal and vertical distribution of cultural deposits in the core area of the 3.7 acre site. One Woodland interment was discovered during the systematic test pitting. In the final phase of site research, a 223 square meter area was stripped to expose and recover twelve Mississippian burials, one of which was radiocarbon dated to A.D. 1260, uncorrected, and A.D. 1250, corrected, nominally placing the feature in the late Mississippian II or Hiwassee Island period. In the absence of diagnostic artifacts from the Hiwassee Island period, the mortuary population and associated features is assigned to the early Mississippian III period or Dallas phase. The demographic profile of the mortuary population was skewed in favor of women. The Dallas component is interpreted as being a small satellite farming hamlet. One Woodland burial was recovered during initial testing of the site, and four more individuals (in two double interments) of probable Woodland origin were recovered from pit burial contexts during salvage operations on the site after the start of pre-construction land clearing. Several unassociated human skeletal elements were retrieved from surface and plowzone contexts, indicating prior disturbance of inhumations in the historic period. Alluviation of the site has aggraded the surface of the T1 flood levee crest on 40HA102 in excess of 1.5 meters since c. 3,000 B.C. Degradation of the T1 levee crest may also have occurred due to colluvial movements, and has demonstrably occurred by plowing and fillborrowing activities in the historic period. Because of profile truncation, Woodland III and Mississippian I and III deposits have been impacted. Multiple features, including burials, postholes and subsistence pits, were exposed in a large-area block excavation opened by stripping of the modem plowzone. Site 40HA233 was represented by stratified cultural deposits exceeding 2.5 meters in depth and ranging in date from the Woodland I to the Mississippian I neriods with the principal occupation occurring during the Woodland II period. Testing occurred near the foot of frontslope levee deposits associated with the absent T1 levee crest. No distinct cultural features were encountered in the excavation, although the small sample size (8 square meters) reduced the probability of encountering features. Artifacts from the Woodland I period are more common on 40HA233 than 40HA102. Modern ground truncation seriously impacted the southern margins of the site, and the deposits sampled in the testing program are thought to represent the margins rather than the core of the archaeological site.
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Archaeological survey at the Citico site (40HA65), Hamilton County, Tennessee
Nicholas Honerkamp, Beth Fowler, Tracy Little, and Robby Mantooth
During May of 1989 Dr. Nicholas Honerkamp of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) led a team of students enrolled in the ANTH 335 Archaeological Field School course in a survey of the Citico Site (40HA65). This well-known mound site is located adjacent to Amnicola Highway in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The area covered during the study consisted of an approximately 450 x 50 m strip of property situated between the Sandbar Restaurant and Citico Creek (Figure 1); the University of Tennessee is the current landowner. The purpose of the survey was to locate and identify any significant prehistoric or historic sites in the project area prior to its development. Current plans call for the construction of a boat house, road, and a parking facility within the parcel. The Citico mound and village complex are known to have existed in the area just east of Citico Creek prior to their destruction in the 20th century. Hence, a survey of the boat house parcel was desirable in order to determine if any remnants of the site might still be present and subject to disturbance or destruction by planned construction activities.
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Test excavations at Citico (40HA65) Hamilton County, Tennessee
E. Raymond Evans and Gerald Smith
In June and July, 1988 test excavations were conducted on a portion of the Citico Site (40HA65). A considerable amount of cultural material, structural features and human burials were documented. More importantly, it was demonstrated that significant portions of the site remain archaeologically intact. Further research would provide valuable insights concerning this major southeastern site.
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Provost student research awards report : inventory and assessment of Austin-Western Collection
Beth Laudeman and Nicholas Honercamp
In the spring of 1987 I received, with the support of Dr. Nick Honerkamp, a Provost Student Research Grant at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The title of the grant proposal was "Inventory and Assessment of the Austin Western Collection" and it was awarded with the understanding that I would, under Dr. Honerkamp's direction, create a inventory of the Austin Western Company's corporate records. Our plan of work was to begin in the fall semester of 1987 to inventory all company records, films, and photographs and to provide for the storage of more than 200 blueprints that accompanied the records. This was to be accomplished over a fifteen week period. After a brief assessment of the records we altered the research strategy and decided to concentrate on the photographs and films because they were most in need of attention.
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Exploratory archaeological excavations at the Shelton Mill site, Chattanooga, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
As part of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Youth Project entitled "Chattanooga: Doing Regional History, " 30 local high school students under the direction of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga faculty engaged in an intensive historical research orientation program in June, 1986. One facet of this program was an introduction to the discipline of archaeology. Drs. Nicholas Honerkamp and Robin Smith of the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, made presentations to the NEH students on archaeological research methods and regional overviews in prehistory and the historic period. In order (1) carry our survey-level archaeological research at a significant urban site (2) simultaneously providing practical field experience in historical and industrial archaeology for the NEH students, the Institute of Archaeology conducted a one-date exploratory archaeological excavation on a tract of land owned by the Tennessee Valley authority in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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An archaeological survey of the phase I Riverpark development, Chattanooga, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council and Robin L. Smith
In August and September, 1986, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted a systematic subsurface archaeological survey of a 2.5 km (1.5 mile) corridor along the left bank of the Tennessee River, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. The survey was funded by the RiverCity Company, Chattanooga, a non-profit corporation overseeing the implementation of a plan to create a public recreation facility known as the Tennessee Riverpark. As part of the final planning of the Phase I area of the Riverpark, environmental impact studies of the project area were commissioned. The project area extends from the C. B. Robinson Bridge off Amnicola Highway to the Tennessee Valley Authority's Chickamauga Dam. The archaeological survey of the Riverpark Phase I project area was conducted by using a power soil auger to drill test cores at 80° (25 meter) intervals in grid and linear patterns to a depth not exceeding 5.5'. The fill from the auger tests was sifted using 1/4 inch mesh screens for standardized artifact recovery. Testing was confined to the proposed project area. Excepting modern debris, the cultural materials recovered from subsurface contexts consisted of prehistoric artifacts from the Late Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian periods. A thin scatter of artifacts is present along the entire length of the project area but two concentrations of debris were noted and tested by hand-excavated test units 3' by 6° in size. One concentration represented a Woodland period occupation superimposed on a Late Archaic component; this site has been designated 40HA233 in the Tennessee archaeological site file. The second concentration was a Woodland occupation previously recorded as site 40HA102 by the Tennessee Department of Transportation in 1979. Mississippian ceramics were present above the Woodland midden. A second previously-recorded site in the project area, 40HA83, situated behind Chattanooga State Technical Community College, was not sampled in the auger survey. It is recommended that the sites noted on each side of the C. B. Robinson Bridge be preserved and protected from construction impacts during development of the Tennessee Riverpark. If preservation of the sites is not feasible, further evaluation in the form of a secondary archaeological testing program is recommended. Since the project area landforms consist of alluvially-aggrading river terraces, there exists the possibility of deeply-buried Archaic occupations not detected by the auger survey. Monitoring of any deep excavations undertaken in the course of construction is recommended.
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Secondary testing and evaluation of the McNish site : 9CH717, Hunter Army Airfield, Chatham County, Savannah, Georgia
R. Bruce Council, Robin L. Smith, and Nicholas Honercamp
An archaeological excavation was carried out at a site at Hunter Army Airfield in order to discover at what times and in what ways earlier cultures used the site. Artifacts were found indicating that North American Indians from as far back as 3000 B.C. up to 1400 A.D. lived in the area that was tested, but that the heaviest occupation was probably by Indians of the Deptford culture (500 B.C. - 700 A.D.). Evidence of an early colonial occupation, consisting of domestic artifacts dating from 1740 to 1760, was also found. Finally, a small 19th century graveyard belonging to the family of John McNish was tested to see if any burial pits were present in the grave enclosure. Besides several inscribed gravestone fragments, four grave pits of different sizes were discovered, indicating that two adults and two children are buried there. Documentary records relating to John McNish were checked, and it was learned that he was an important businessman in Savannah during the first quarter of the 19th century and that he once owned a plantation called the Hermitage in the Hunter Army Airfield area.
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Prehistoric camps and villages: testing at 9Cam171H and 9Cam188, King's Bay, Georgia
Robin L. Smith
Phase II testing was conducted by the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology at two sites at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in August of 1984. The North End of the Kings Bay Site, 9Cam171H, which is located on the eastern margin of the mainland just north of Etowah Park and south of Cherry Point, was studied to evaluate effects of proposed expansion of the adjacent recreation area. The Davis Farm Site, which lies on the eastern side of Point Peter at the southern edge of the Base, was studied to assess the effects of a proposed radar installation. 9Cam171H was tested using a systematic unaligned sample of 30 stratigraphic tests 1 x 2 min extent. Study of the ceramic, lithic, and faunal materials collected revealed that a significant amount and variety of information on the St. Simons, Transitional, and Deptford periods is present in this site. Preservation is recommended. In the event that preservation is not possible, data recovery research addressing specific aspects of the Late Archaic-to-Woodland period shift should be carried out. 9Cam 188 was tested using a series of 3-m wide motor grader trenches running east-west across the site. These trenches removed a heavy mantle of plow-disturbed shell midden and exposed the underlying features which intrude into the subsoil. The first three cuts revealed such a large number of structural and subsistence features that it was possible to complete excavation of only a little over half of the exposure. Data from these trenches demonstrates the presence of St. Simons, Deptford, Swift Creek, Wilmington, Savannah, and St. Johns II components. Well preserved, datable subsistence features are also present. Except for the earliest, all components are associated with structural and/or subsistence features. Some areas of the trenches exhibit feature clusters which are probably part of interpretable domestic structures. Significant information about site-level settlement patterns and about subsistence patterns is preserved at Davis Farm. Preliminary results of this study confirmed the National Register eligibility of the site and demonstrated that a very large scale data collection program would be necessary to mitigate the anticipated adverse impacts of radar installation construction. The Navy elected to move the radar installation. Preservation of the Davis Farm Site is recommended.
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On the waterfront : archaeological research at Fort Frederica National Monument, St. Simons Island, Georgia
Nicholas Honerkamp, R. Bruce Council, and Elizabeth J. Reitz
The results of documentary research and archaeological survey and testing of the riverbank area at Fort Frederica National Monument, St. Simons Island, Georgia, are described. Carried out by the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology in August of 1983, the fieldwork consisted of a systematic transect survey, intensive hand excavation of judgementally placed test units, and excavation of a test trench to locate suspected earthworks. A combined total of 45.25 square meters of surface area was investigated using this approach. Survey and testing was necessitated by planned anti-erosion measures along the riverbank that will result in subsurface disturbances to the archaeological record. Materials recovered from 75 half-meter test pits and 5 test units that measured 2 x 2 m consisted of 6592 artifacts and 6824.5 g of bone; 15 interpretable features were identified. Artifact deposition and feature occurrence was found to be curtained primarily in a 30 m section of the project area. This same area shows evidence of extensive alteration and redeposition. Analysis of temporally-sensitive artifacts indicates that most of the ceramics were deposited in the last quarter of the 18th century through the first quarter of the 19th century. The documentary and archaeological data generated from this site were used to address research questions concerning the presence and condition of artifacts and features in the project area; definition of trash disposal behavior; definition of settlement patterning; patterning in colonial and postcolonial material culture; and the refinement of a model of coastal resource utilization. Direct comparisons with artifact assemblages from Frederica and other sites in the Southeast were mode in order to place the riverbank results in both a local and regional research perspective. Based on the results of the documentary research and fieldwork, it is concluded that the planned riverbank erosion control project will have no adverse impact on the archaeological record present in the project area. it is recommended, however, that any construction activities be monitored by a qualified archaeologist or trained National Park Service employee. Suggestions for future problem-oriented documentary end archaeological research at Frederica are offered.
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Three sites on Sandy Run : phase II evaluation of sites 9Cam183, 184, and 185 at Kings Bay, Georgia
Robin L. Smith, R. Bruce Council, and Rebecca Saunders
A program of testing and evaluation for three sites on a creek called Sandy Run in the Cherry Point area of the Naval Submarine Support Base at Kings Bay was conducted by the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Sampling strategies varied among the sites but all testing employed 1 x 2 m excavation units sifted through quarter-inch mesh screen. Assemblages included ceramics and lithics from early prehistoric nonshell deposits, ceramics, lithics, and faunal remains from later prehistoric surface shell middens, and a wide range of late 18th/early 19th century domestic and agricultural artifacts from the sheet midden at a historic site. Datable, interpretable features were defined in each site. All three sites were found to contain significant cultural remains in a good state of preservation with little evidence of modern disturbance. The Frohock Point Historic Site, 9Cam183, was the home of the John King family in the period 1791 to 1823. The administrative center of this small plantation, associated domestic activity areas, and a possible slave quarters area were defined. The Frohock Point Prehistoric Site,9Cam184, was found to be a large, diffuse prehistoric site with Late Archaic, Transitional, and Savannah period components well-represented. The Mallard Creek Site, 9Cam185, is a Swift Creek period site, underlain by a Late Archaic component, which shows a settlement pattern contrasting with that of the Swift Creek component at the Kings Bay Site. The previously determined eligibility of each site for the National Register of Historic Places was confirmed by this study. Preservation is strongly recommended as the preferred alternative for managing these cultural resources. Preservation will balance the large amount of site destruction, through research and construction, that has taken place at Kings Bay since 1977 and will ensure that at least some of the cultural resources in this area will be available for study in the future. In the event that preservation is not feasible, further archaeological research will be required; goals and foci appropriate for each site are outlined.
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Archaeological and documentary investigations of the Kyker Mill Dam, Washington County, Tennessee : a report
R. Bruce Council
Under a contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted historical and archaeological documentation of the Kyker Mill Dam on Big Limestone Creek, Washington County, Tennessee, in October, 1984. The objective of the research was to evaluate the historical significance and archaeological potential of the site in order to assess the eligibility of the site for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. The research was predicated by proximity of the remains of an early mill dam adjacent to a condemned steel truss bridge over Big Limestone Creek; construction of the replacement bridge was projected to have an impact on the mill dam remains.
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The Union Railyards Site : industrial archaeology in Chattanooga, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council and Nicholas Honercamp
The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted archaeological and documentary research on the Union Railyards and Union Stockyards Sites in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, during 1979-1981. The reconnaissance testing and data recovery programs at the sites were aimed at assessing the eligibility of the resources for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and to mitigate adverse impact on the cultural resources in the project tracts. The research was performed under contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority. The archaeological and documentary resources examined pertained principally to a tract of land where the Western and Atlantic and Nashville and Chattanooga Railroads and their successors maintained terminal yards from c. 1850 to c. 1978, when the project area was acquired by the Tennessee Valley Authority for urban redevelopment. The areas examined archaeologically were the maintenance and freight yards adjoining the Union Depot, a large jointly owned passenger facility. A tract of land adjoining the railyards and used during the 19th century as a stockyard was also tested archaeologically. The research design for the investigations proposed generating: (1) a site-specific documentary history of the development of the yards and concommitant archaeological documentation of the railroad-related structures and features in the yards, (2) information concerning the shift from wrought iron to steel rail hardware, and the shift from wood to coal locomotive fuel, (3) information concerning the nature and distribution of industrial waste at the sites, (4) documentation concerning the ecology of the site, particularly the flora-supporting characteristics of artificial soil (coal, cinder, and clinker), and (5) an examination of "real" versus "ideal" construction practices, comparing archaeologically-observed material behavior with ideal engineering construction practice as evidenced by engineering textbooks and related literature. Excavations at the Union Railyards Site generated site-specific data on site formation processes, railroad architecture and yard layout. Railroad-related artifacts were recovered, but not in great volume. Archaeologically, the transition from wood to coal combustion in locomotives, and the shift from wrought iron to steel rail hardware was not well represented. The nature of locomotive ash and cinder accumulations as a site formation process and the archaeological correlates of the wood to coal fuel transition are discussed. Industrial site ecology was not examined in any depth, but a floral profile of the recently-abandoned railyards was obtained.
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On the river's edge: prehistoric occupations on the Heritage Place Tract, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Nicholas Honerkamp
The history of human habitation In the Tennessee River Valley is characterized by a tremendous temporal span and by a remarkable variety. Archaeologists and historians have established a more or less continuous occupation in this area over several millenia. This continuity Is not by chance; several environmental factors have made the valley attractive to both prehistoric end historic occupants. However, a common thread that links the diverse populations and cultural traditlons together, from the hunting end gathering adaptations of six to seven thousands yeers ago, to the industrial adaptations of today, Is the Tennessee River. Although Its importance to the modern occupants of the valley may have waned in recent years, there has been a renewal of interest that promises to result, once agaIn, in a river orientation of sustained human habitation and use. One manifestation of the emerging river focus is the development of housing projects directly adjacent to the river. An ambitious development proposed by the Stone Fort Land Company of Chattanooga Is currently underway on the north bank of the Tennessee River which will transform 93 acres of farm land Into a large condominium complex. Known as ""Heritage PIace,"" this privately-financed project should considerably enhance the area's economic development as well as contributing to the revitalization of downtown Chattanooga. But, as this report documents, there are also unanticipated costs associated with this development. These costs cannot be measured In a monetary sense, because they consist of prehistoric remains present in the archaeological record at Heritage PIace. Nevertheless, these costs are real, and they directly concern all of us who live and work in the Chattanooga community. It is hoped that, at the very least, this report will stimulate consideration and discussion of the costs as well as the benefits of future developments along the river's edge.
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"The smouldering ruin and the ivyed wall": archaeology at the Oglethrope Site, St. Simons Island, Georgia
Nicholas Honerkamp
The location of James OglethOl'pe's house near Fort Frederica has been the subject of considerable popular, if not scholarly, speculation. Oral tradition on St. Simons Island has placed the house in various areas; at one time or another, virtually every abandoned brick or tabby foundation within a one-mile radius of Frederica has claimed the honor. As is so often the case, contemporary records give conflicting or confusing accounts and, when coupled with active imaginations and wishful thinking, compound the problem even further. Into these muddied historical waters archaeologists from the Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology (University of Tennessee-Chattanooga) were asked to wade. This paper summarizes the results of preliminary research carried out at one of the better "candidate" sites suspected to be Oglethorpe's brieflyoccupied homestead.
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Archaeological testing at Cherry Point, Camden County, Georgia: an evaluation of the prehistoric component, 9Cam187.
Robin L. Smith
The Cherry Point Prehistoric Site (9Cam187) at Kings Bay, Camden County, Georgia, was the subject of a Phase II testing and evaluation program conducted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on behalf of the U.S. Navy in January, 1983. The research potential of this multicomponent site was evaluated on the basis of information gathered from 37 1x2 m excavation units and 4 column samples. Aboriginal occupations during the Late Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and historic periods were confirmed by the presence of small amounts of fiber tempered, Deptford, Savannah, and San Marcos pottery. Lithic artifacts were few and subsistence remains were uninformative. One interpretable feature was defined but it lacked associated and/or datable materials. It is concluded that this site does not offer the potential for significant scientific research. Removal from eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places is recommended.
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Archaeological survey and testing at Hunter Army Airfield, Savannah, Georgia
Robin L. Smith, R. Bruce Council, Nicholas Honercamp, and Lawrence E. Babits
A systematic pedestrian survey employing standardized, screened shovel tests was carried out at Hunter Army Airfield in Chatham County, Georgia. Nine archaeological sites were discovered and delineated; two of these are prehistoric sites, six are historic, and one has components from both periods. The prehistoric sites are a Deptford period campsite and a Savannah period shellfishing station. The historic sites are all small rural farmsteads occupied between 1775 and 1850 or later. All sites are relatively small and have sparse deposits of artifacts. The small number of sites and small size of individual sites at Hunter appear to be a consequence of two factors: (1) large areas of the base are intensively developed and therefore inaccessible to survey, including the locations of the colonial period towns of Hampstead and Highgate and (2) much of the remaining area is low-lying, poorly drained land which would have been unattractive to prehistoric settlers and was only marginally useable in the historic period with the advent of dry culture. Phase II testing was carried out at one of the historic sites to evaluate potential impacts of a road-widening project. The sample recovered permits more detailed description of events at the site but the best preserved remains represent mid-20th century activities. The site does not meet criteria for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and no further work was recommended.
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Historical and archaeological documentation of the Wilson Mill Dam on the Ocoee River near Benton, Polk County, Tennessee
R. Bruce Council
The Jeffrey L. Brown Institute of Archaeology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, conducted historical and archaeological documentation of the Wilson Mill Dam on the Ocoee River near Benton, Polk County, Tennessee, in July, 1983. Performed under a contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the research involved 1) the development of a site-specific history of the mill and dam, based on primary and secondary documentation, 2) field documentation of the extant remains of the timber and stone crib-type dam and associated mill house remains, and 3) preparation of a synopsis of the development of milling in Polk County. The mill seat was utilized from 1847 to c. 1940 for grist and flour milling, as well as lesser operations. The mill was powered by an undershot wheel, breast wheel and from the 1870s on, by turbine. Archaeological remains of the mill dam and associated features were photographed, mapped and described in field notes; no significant excavations were undertaken and no artifacts were collected. The principal remains documented were 1) an early debris-type dam, 2) a stone-filled timber crib dam, 3) penstock (turbine housing) remains, 4) mill house piers, and 5) possible early waterwheel underpinnings.
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The reality of the city : urban archaeology at the Telfair site, Savannah, Georgia
Nicholas Honerkamp, R. Bruce Council, and H. Charles Fairbanks
Results of intensive archaeological testing/data recovery program at the Telfair Site in downtown Savannah, Georgia, are described. Located within the Savannah National Historic Landmark District, the site consists of 2 trust and 10 tything lots that will be affected by an urban renewal project. Using both documentary and archaeological data, contrasts in land use patterns between trust and tything lots from 1733 to c. 1900 were outlined. Trust lots were identified as locations for centralizing functions attributed to religious, commercial, and governmental concerns, while tything parcels initially contained domestic occupations. Combined residence-business establishments began to appear after 1850, resultingA-n accelerated subdivisioning of tything lots, a reduction in open space, and a concomitant clustering of features (wells, privies, etc.). Formal on-site refuse disposal is indicated until the introduction of basic municipal services in the 1850-1900 period. Despite a heavy retail business component at the site, artifact assemblages overwhelmingly reflect domestic activities. Zooarchaeological analysis indicates that the faunal assemblage conforms to the previously-defined Coastal Subsistence Model in terms of resource utilization and butchering practices. Finally, several recommendations are presented concerning future research at Savannah and other urban sites.
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Brainerd Mill : archaeological investigations at the Brainerd Mission Mill and Bird's Mill
Loretta Lautzenheiser and Jeffrey L. Brown
The Brainerd Mill Site is in Hamilton County, Tennessee, on the west bank of South Chickamauga Creek. The site lies approximately 800 feet south of Lee Highway (U.S. 11) and 2100 feet north of Interstate 75. Brainerd Village Shopping Center lies directly to the west of the site. The mill site was a portion of the Mission to the Cherokees established by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1817. Construction of Brainerd Village and the adjacent Eastgate Mall destroyed most remnants of the Brainerd Mission except for the Cemetery and the mill site. At the time of investigations at the mill in 1979, the lower portions of a log crib dam, the mill foundation and a possible canal were visible. The construction of a flood relief program for the South Chickamauga Creek watershed was proposed in the late 1960s by TVA. The project consisted of a levee, generally of earth fill, about 3.9 miles long. Levees on low-lying land were to be about 30 feet high, with an average of about 23 feet in height. The levee was designed with a top width of 14 feet and side slopes of 2.5:1.0. The channel of South Chickamauga Creek would be widened and relocated to restore flood capacity lost by leveeing the west flood plain, and old channels would be refilled. The proposed realignment of the sharp turn in the creek at the site of the mill would directly impact the archaeological remains.
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Bluff Furnace : archaeology of a nineteenth century blast furnace
R. Bruce Council, Nicholas Honercamp, and Elizabeth M. Will
Results of archaeological and documentary research relating to the Bluff Furnace Site (1854-1860), a hot-blast iron furnace in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are presented. Research objectives for the project were defined as (1) establishing the coherent nature of the archaeological remains, (2) defining distinct activity areas at the site, (3) identifying the industrial processes that occurred there and determining their relative efficiencies, (4) establishing the local and regional significance of the operation in an industrial and economic sense, and (5) realizing the educational potential of the site. Data applicable to meeting these objectives were generated from the synthesis of archaeological and documentary lines of evidence. Major structural components of the early charcoal-fueled and later coke-fueled periods of the site were exposed during the excavation, including the base of a coke-fired cupola containing an in situ iron salamander. Analysis of by-products and pig iron samples indicate the operation was capable of producing a high quality finished product, though in a somewhat inefficient manner. In comparison to other blast furnaces in the United States at mid-nineteenth century, Bluff Furnace is seen as an innovative industrial enterprise in a regional perspective.