Managing the Effects of Erosion and Sea Level Rise on Archaeological Sites at Fort Eustis, Newport News, Virginia

Summary

Fort Eustis, part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, located on Mulberry Island along the James River in Virginia, is extremely vulnerable to the threat of erosion resulting from sea level rise, increased tidal range, and flooding from increased rainfall and storm surge. Currently, dozens of archaeological sites on the island are experiencing damage resulting from erosion, including sites where human remains have been found protruding from erosional scarps. To meet the installation’s short and long-term planning needs and their regulatory obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act, the Fort Eustis Cultural Resources Management Program implemented a study of the effects of sea level rise and shoreline erosion on 31 threatened archaeological sites at Fort Eustis. The interdisciplinary study involved archaeologists and coastal engineers from AECOM and examined historic and current erosions rates and future sea level rise projections, conducted site visits, developed comprehensive risk assessments, evaluated of current and long-term threats, and generated potential management strategies. The installation currently uses the data from the study to establish priorities regarding which sites to evaluate for significance, to develop cost estimates, and to aid when deciding whether to protect a site or to conduct data recovery.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20274