Phase Ia Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey of Two Septic Mounds for Lake Monroe Sailing Association, Monroe County, Indiana

Abstract

On 12 Novemeber 2004, the Glenn A. Black Laboratory Office of Cultural Resource Management (GBL-OCRM), Indiana University, conducted a Phase Ia archaeological survey of two proposed septic mounds under contract with the Lake Monroe Sailing Association located in Monroe County, Polk Township, Section 6. The proposed Area of Potential Effect (APE) is divided into two areas and is comprised of a total of 1,252 m² (0.3 acres). Background research and field survey were conducted to: (1) identify and document all cultural resources in the project area; (2) provide an evaluation of National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures (IRHSS) eligibility for all identified cultural resources within the project corridor; and (3) provide recommendations for mitigation if avoidance of NRHP- or IRHSS-eligible sites is not possible. This survey was conducted in compliance with the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) (32 CFR 229). Visual surface inspection and shovel testing were conducted within the project boundaries. Shovel tests were excavated on a 10 m x 10 m grid within the proposed APE. A total of 841 m2 (0.2 acres) were subjected to shovel testing and 411 m² (0.1 acres) were subjected to overview. A total of 27 shovel probes were excavated. Fieldwork was conducted on 12 November 2004 by GBL archaeologists Bryan Will, Lauren Matisoff, Bob Adkins, Eldridge Doubleday, and David Buren. No previously recorded archaeological sites are located within the current APE, and no new sites were recorded during the current investigations. One small whiteware and milkglass fragment were recovered from a severely eroded context. The items were provenienced but not collected due to the questionable integrity of the context. The project corridor and surrounding area has been considerably altered by human intervention throughout the years (i.e. building, road, and parking lot construction, and fill placement). A combination of sloping terrain and human altering of the landscape, resulting in deflated and disturbed soils, has significantly decreased the potential to recover intact archaeological deposits within the proposed APE. These combined factors may explain the paucity of artifacts recovered in a region, which was otherwise heavily utilized by prehistoric populations, based on DHPA and GBL-OCRM site records. Due to the paucity of artifacts recovered coupled with the eroded and disturbed context of the project area, it is the opinion of the GBL-OCRM that no further investigation is necessary, and archaeological clearance is recommended. However, if artifacts, cultural features, and/or remains that might prove to be human are discovered during earth-moving activities, the State Historic Preservation Officer at the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA), Indiana Department of Natural Resources, should be contacted immediately.