MITIGATION OF THE MOX and PDCF SITES
The SRARP, in conjunction with SCIAA Cultural Resources Consulting Division, has completed the fieldwork for a data recovery project in preparation for proposed construction of the DOE'S Mixed Oxide Fuel Facility (MOX) on the SRS. The excavation, initiated as part of compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, focused on Woodland and Mississippian period deposits at 38AK546. The fieldwork occurred between December 2001 and April 2002 and consisted of 550 shovel tests and 320m2 of block excavation located in three separate areas. The Woodland components at the site included Thorns Creek/Refuge, Deptford, and an early Savannah I (Savannah Cord Marked pottery horizon), while the Mississippian occupation dates to the Early Mississippian period. Thorns Creek/Refuge deposits are thinly dispersed across much of the site, while the Deptford, Savannah I, and Mississippian artifacts are more spatially limited. The South Block excavation, totaling 214 square meters dug in 1 x 1-m units, was initiated to investigate the early Savannah I and Early Mississippian components. Given the poor preservation of organic features in the Coastal Plain sands, all sherds and lithic tools larger than 25 mm were piece plotted to determine artifact patterning relating to site structure. Although analysis of the artifacts and their spatial distribution is just beginning, one interesting discovery has already emerged. The Mississippian complicated stamped ceramic assemblage consists almost entirely of sherds with designs that resemble Pisgah Rectilinear Complicated Stamped pottery (Dickens 1976:172-177), representing a currently unidentified phase on the SRS. Soot from the exterior of a "Pisgah-like" decorated sherd was submitted for AMS dating and yielded a 1-sigma calibration of AD 1010 (1020) 1040 [Beta-164305]. Additionally, soot from the exterior of a complicated stamped sherd with a concentric diamond design in the Mississippian assemblage resulted in a 1-sigma AMS calibration of AD 1030 (1040) 1160 [Beta-164306]. The North Block, totaling 89m2, was located about 200m from the South Block and was excavated in 1 x 1-m units to investigate the Deptford component. All artifacts greater than 25mm were piece plotted to infer site structure. Forthcoming AMS dates from soot should help pinpoint the temporal aspect of settlement. Interestingly, at about 25m west of the North Block a dense concentration of deteriorated bone was discovered during the testing phase. A 17m2 mini-block was excavated to recover these subsistence remains, which seem to be associated with the Thorns Creek/Refuge occupation. The SRARP is nearing completion of the field phase of a data recovery project in preparation for proposed construction of the Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility (PDCF). This excavation focuses on Mississippian and Woodland period components present at the site. Fieldwork began in April of 2002 and has included the excavation of 266 square meters dug in three blocks. The Woodland components of interest at the site include a Thorns Creek/Refuge occupation and a component associated with fabric-impressed pottery, while the Mississippian component appears to date to the Middle or Late Mississippian period. Mississippian and Thorns Creek/Refuge diagnostics are widely distributed across the site and a total of 205 square meters has been excavated in two blocks to investigate those deposits. The fabric-impressed pottery is limited to a smaller and separate part of the site, where a total of 61 square meters has been excavated. Given the poor preservation of organic features in Coastal Plain sandy soils, all sherds and lithic tools larger than 25 mm are being piece plotted as a means of reconstructing site structure for each component. Artifact processing and preliminary analyses are proceeding, but some observations can be made about component dating and artifact patterning. The Mississippian pottery assemblage consists mainly of complicated stamped and plain sherds, with the most readily recognizable motif being the filfot scroll. Several sherds exhibit cane punctations below unmodified rims, while a small number of rims are thickened and pinched or notched. These ceramic attributes likely place the assemblage in the Silver Bluff phase (AD 1350-1450) of the Late Mississippian period. That assignment has been supported by a single radiocarbon date obtained on soot from a complicated stamped sherd. When calibrated at one standard deviation, the result was 1299 (1315, 1354, 1387) 1398 [Beta-167843]. This date seems to place the assemblage near the end of the Hollywood phase (AD 1250-1350) or at the beginning of the Silver Bluff phase. Sooted sherds from the Thorns Creek/Refuge and fabric-impressed components have not been recovered. As an alternative means of dating these components, sherds will be submitted for thermoluminescence dating. In terms of artifact patterning and site structure, several observations can be made. First, both the Mississippian and Thorns Creek/Refuge artifacts are not evenly distributed across the zone of occupation. In both cases, small scatters of tightly clustered artifacts are separated by zones where few if any materials are recovered. This suggests that activity areas and overall site structure may be more readily interpreted than might be the case with more heavily occupied or reoccupied sites. In addition, the field crew has recorded a cobble cluster in the Thorns Creek/Refuge deposits. Such features figured prominently in Sassaman's identification of contemporary households at 38AK157. Compared to the variety of artifact classes found in the Thorns Creek/Refuge and Mississippian components, the occupation associated with fabric impressed pottery has produced only pottery sherds. If this observation holds through the completion of the excavations, it may indicate that the site was used for a much more limited set of activities than during the other occupations.