Archaeological Phase Ia Survey for a Proposed Dumping Area, Lawrence County, Indiana

Abstract

At the request of Stone City Ironworks, Inc., the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University (GBL) conducted Phase Ia archaeological reconnaissance survey for a proposed excess dumping site located approximately 3.2 km (2 miles) east of the town of Bedford, Lawrence County, Indiana. The project area was initially visited on May 11, 2001 during a pre-survey field reconnaissance. Between May 11 and 18, topsoil was removed from approximately 66% (1.2 acres) of the project area by Stone City Ironworks personnel using heavy earth-moving equipment. The remaining .6 acres were surveyed using the shovel probe method. The disturbed portions of the area were visually inspected for the presence of cultural materials and subsurface deposits by the GBL field crew. The purposes of survey were 1) to identify and document all of the cultural resources in the project area, 2) to evaluate any sites found with regard to their eligibility for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures (IRHSS), and 3) to make recommendations for the protection of significant and potentially significant sites. Fieldwork was conducted on May 18, 2001 by GBL archaeologists George L. Mankowski, Kris Suthers, and Ashley Gelman. No cultural materials were recovered from the shovel probe survey of the undisturbed .6 acres. Cultural resource clearance is therefore recommended for the portion of the project area that was surveyed. A single previously unrecorded archaeological site (12 Lr 1044) was recorded during survey of the disturbed portion of the project area. Although no diagnostic artifacts or evidence of buried intact cultural deposits were documented, it is the opinion of the GBL that the depth and horizontal extent of the disturbed deposits precludes assessment of significance and eligibility for inclusion on the NRHP and IRHSS for site 12 Lr 1044. In view of the destruction of site 12 Lr 1044 by the earth-moving operation, no further archaeological work is recommended for the proposed dumping site.