Archaeological Survey of Pender Camp Wastewater Force Main, Fort A.P. Hill (AP2011.001)

The Louis Berger Group, Inc. (LBG), on behalf of EEE Consulting, has completed an archaeological survey of the route of the proposed Pender Camp Wastewater Force Main at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County, Virginia. The survey entailed background archival research, pedestrian reconnaissance, and subsurface testing. LBG conducted the fieldwork from April 18 to 28, 2011.

For most of its approximately 6-mile length, the proposed water line runs parallel to the eastern edge of Windsor Drive. At the direction of Fort A.P. Hill cultural resource staff, LBG’s subsurface tests were placed at 50-foot intervals on a linear transect along the length of the proposed water line at a distance of 30 feet from the road edge to avoid buried utilities. The goal of the survey was to provide a 100 percent inventory of all archaeological resources in this area of potential effect (APE). The total area surveyed measured about 36 acres (14.5 hectares). If any site appeared to contain potentially significant information, a more intensive evaluation program would be recommended to determine its eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

Many sections of the APE were obviously disturbed, with pushpiles, tank tracks, pavement, gravel, or logging traces (and active logging in one area). These disturbed areas were not tested. In all, 322 shovel tests were excavated, including 39 radials and two judgmental tests. Four locations, three isolated finds, and a portion of one archaeological site were identified. Site 44CE0689 is a prehistoric lithic scatter of indeterminate age. Locations 4774-1, 4774-2, 4774-4, and 4774-5 are sparse scatters of historic and recent artifacts in disturbed secondary contexts. By definition of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the locations and isolated finds are not archaeological sites and the National Register eligibility criteria are not applicable to them.

Site 44CE0689 is a prehistoric lithic scatter of indeterminate age, likely marking the southern edge of a larger but sparse lithic scatter that is primarily manifest as the surface scatter along the northern (or western) edge of Windsor Drive. LBG recommends the portion of Site 44CE0689 encountered in the APE of the proposed force main as not contributing to the site’s potential eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. Only three artifacts were recovered from a probable plowzone context. In view of this disturbed context, no important information about prehistory can be derived from this part of the site, and therefore this portion of the site does not contribute to the overall site’s eligibility for the National Register under Criterion D. Criteria A, B, and C were applied but found to be not applicable to this site.

This collection contains the Archaeological Survey of Pender Camp Wastewater Force Main, Fort A.P. Hill (AP 2011.001) project. This includes a draft of the report from the investigation, photographs and an artifact catalog with accompanying codes.