Phase IA Archaeological Survey of 18 Miles of Proposed Sewer Line for the West Boggs Lake Sewer Project, Daviess and Martin Counties, Indiana

Abstract

At the request of Midwestern Engineers, Inc. of Loogootee, Indiana, on behalf of the West Boggs Sewer District, Inc., the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University (GBL) conducted a Phase IA archaeological surface reconnaissance of approximately 18 miles of proposed sewer line corridor and 11 associated lift station sites in Daviess and Martin Counties, Indiana. Over 17 miles of the survey corridor are located in eastern Daviess County; only .25 miles falls within western Martin County. The sewer line corridor is located almost entirely along existing county and private road rights-of-way (R-O-W). The purposes of the archaeological reconnaissance were to: 1) identify and document cultural resources in the proposed project area; 2) if cultural materials were discovered, assess their potential for inclusion in the National Register ofH istoric Places (NRHP) and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures (IRHSS); and 3) make recommendations pertaining to the significance and future treatment of cultural resources within the project area. Fieldwork was performed from November 4 to 16, 1998 by GBL archaeologists Wendy L. Natt, Amanda S. Roth, and Craig D. Byron. During the survey, four prehistoric sites (12 Da 1130 and 1132-1134) and one site with both prehistoric and historic components (12 Da 1131) were discovered and recorded within the project area. Sites 12 Da 1130, 1132-1134, and the prehistoric component from 12 Da 1131 are lithic isolates or very light lithic scatters. The historic component from 12 Da 1131 consists of a moderately dense scatter of historic domestic refuse with no intact, associated structural remains. No diagnostic artifacts or surface evidence of intact, buried cultural deposits/historic structures were found at any of these sites. Due to the paucity and/or low informational value of surface artifacts at all of these sites, 12 Da 1130, 1131, 113 2, 1133, and 1134 are recommended to be non-significant and ineligible for inclusion on the NRHP and the IRHSS.