Archaeological Survey of A Proposed Bridge Construction Debris Burial Site, Madison County, Indiana

Abstract

At the request of Duncan Robertson, Inc., the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana University (G BL) conducted a Phase Ia archaeological reconnaissance survey of a proposed bridge construction debris burial site in Madison County, Indiana. The burial site will be associated with replacement of the bridge carrying County Road 200E over Fall Creek (Project #B24594). The project area as described on the day of survey by the construction foreman will be limited to a low area between two fields and within the cleared area of a current power line right-of-way (40 meters along power line corridor). Approximately 0.32 acre was survey ed with in the project area. Additional surface survey was conducted to the east and west of the project area for 30 meters into the adjoining agricultural fields. 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 within the project area. Fieldwork was conducted on April 11, 2000 by GBL archaeologist Devin W. Fishel. No cultural materials were discovered within the proposed project area. During the course of survey, one previously unrecorded archaeological site, 12 M 659, was discovered 22 meters northeast of the project area. Cultural resource clearance is therefore recommended for the proposed construction debris burial site provided that all earth-moving activities are restricted to the currently delineated project area boundaries.