Results of Archaeological Site Identification Testing for the Silverbell Road, Road Improvement Project, Tucson, Arizona

Summary

The City of Tucson (COT) proposes to widen Silverbell Road. The project would entail construction of a four-lane divided roadway with raised medians, paved shoulders, a multi-use path, pavement markings, striping and signing, and drainage improvements. Funding for the project would be provided by the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). The area of potential effects (APE) for this 1.15-mile-long project is located between the west bank of the Santa Cruz River and the toe of the Tucson Mountains in right-of-way (ROW) administered by COT, and entirely within Tucson city limits. A previous archaeological survey conducted by SWCA Environmental Consultants (SWCA) for the proposed widening of Silverbell Road resulted in no cultural resources detected in the current project area, although much of the current APE was inaccessible due to development or lack of right-of-entry (Petersen et al. 2010). SWCA noted that the geomorphology of the project area meant buried cultural deposits were possible in contexts which would not be visible on the modern ground surface, and recommended that identification testing should be conducted in non-site areas where portions of the project APE crosses alluvial fans and floodplain deposits.

The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has stated that “Identification testing is appropriate where ground visibility is low or in geomorphic settings likely to contain deeply buried sites (e.g., flood plains, alluvial fans, and sand dunes)” (Bilsbarrow 2003). Consistent with these recommendations, COT contracted SWCA to conduct site identification test trenching for the Silverbell Road, Road Improvement Project. The testing involved the excavation of backhoe trenches in non-site areas within the COT Silverbell Road ROW, and was conducted under the authority of SWCA’s Arizona Antiquities Act blanket permit (Permit No. 2014-022bl).

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SWCA DAHA Resources   •
• Digital Archive of Huhugam Archaeology (DAHA)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Principal Investigator(s): Suzanne Griset

Project Director(s): S. Jerome Hesse

Landowner(s): City of Tucson

Sponsor(s): Regional Transportation Authority

Prepared By(s): SWCA Environmental Consultants

Submitted To(s): City of Tucson Transportation Department; City of Tucson Historic Preservation Office

Record Identifiers

City of Tucson Project No.(s): 14-10

Arizona State Museum Accession No. (s): 2014-0497

Arizona Antiquities Act Blanket Permit No. (s): 2014-022bl

SWCA Project No. (s): 30445

File Information