Phase I Archaeological Survey of a Proposed Parking Lot at Ft. Dix, Township, Burlington County, New Jersey

Summary

The purpose of this study was to identify any potentially significant prehistoric and/or historic archaeological resources that might be impacted by construction-related activities. The Ft. Dix Directorate of Public Works requested an archaeological investigation of the project area because of the potential that mid-nineteenth century building foundations and/or their associated shaft features (wells and privies), associated with the former town of Pointville, might be present in the footprint of the proposed parking lot project. Because it was thought that traditional survey techniques involving close interval, sub-surface testing by means of excavation of Shovel Test Probes (STPs) might miss the potential historic features, and so as to leave no ambiguity about the presence/absence of such features within the footprint of the proposed project, it was decided to concurrently investigate the project footprint by means of ground penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometer.

Archaeologists from Kise Straw & Kolodner excavated a total of 26 STPs over the 0.86-acre project area. The results document that directly below the surface of the grass lawn there are 1-4 distinct episodes of twentieth-century fill and that these layers of fill extend to a depth of at least 2.5 feet or deeper in all parts of the proposed project’s footprint. Artifacts retrieved from the fill layers include small pieces of rusted metal, shards of twentieth-century bottle glass and broken-up bits of asphalt.

Scientists from AMEC Earth and Environmental conducted a study of the proposed project footprint by means of ground penetrating radar (GPR) and a cesium vapor magnetometer. Analysis of the GPR data indicated that no linear stone/brick building foundations or circular shaft features were present in the project footprint. Analysis of the magnetometer data indicated that small amounts of metal were distributed throughout the project area. Both the GPR and magnetometer instrumentation picked up a significant anomaly (Anomaly D/2) below the present ground surface that was interpreted to be a possible fuel tank. Ground-proofing by excavation revealed that the anomaly was a collection of rusted fence posts and their concrete bases buried in fill, between 4-8 feet below the present ground surface.

Investigation by means of STPs and geophysical instrumentation demonstrate that the proposed project area footprint has deep layers of twentieth-century fill containing metal and construction debris. No archaeological resources were identified in the project area and the proposed project will not impact any prehistoric or historic period archaeological resources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Fort Dix Archaeology and Cultural Resources Archive

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Air Force Base

Contributor(s): AMEC Earth and Environmental

Lab Director(s): Ariadne Moore

Project Director(s): Glumac

Prepared By(s): Kise Franks & Straw Inc.

Submitted To(s): US Army Fort Dix, Directorate of Public Works

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