Identification Of Offshore Cultural Resources Within Tract X-1353, Gulf Of America Eglin Air Force Base

Summary

Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) is supporting cultural resources investigation for Eglin Air Force Base (Eglin AFB) under an agreement with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC). Argonne contracted SEARCH to conduct a Phase I marine reconnaissance survey within the Eglin Test and Training Complex (ETTC) waters. The survey Tract X-1353 comprises approximately 16 square nautical miles (13,500 acres) of federal waters approximately 16 nautical miles offshore in the Gulf of America.

As an agency of the Federal Government, the US Air Force sponsored this work to inventory possible submerged archaeological resources within the ETTC to comply with Sections 306101 to 306107 and 306109 to 306114 (formerly Section 110) of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA; 54 U.S.C. § 300101 et seq.) and regulations in accordance with the Department of the Air Force Manual (DAFMAN) 32-7003. For the survey area, SEARCH researched the historical background and environmental setting, reviewed previous maritime archaeological investigations, and identified reported archaeological resources to guide development of the research design and to help interpret the marine remote-sensing data. Fieldwork consisted of a nonintrusive geophysical survey of 16 square nautical miles (sq nmi) conducted on October 27– November 11 (the southern 7 sq nmi), 2024 and January 16–23, 2026 (the remaining northern 9 sq nmi).

SEARCH identified 83 magnetic anomalies and 97 acoustic contacts within the survey area. None of the magnetic anomalies were associated with submerged archaeological resources that are potentially significant. One acoustic contact is recommended for avoidance. If avoidance is not possible, SEARCH recommends coordination with officials at Eglin AFB. Analysis of the subbottom profiler data resulted in the identification of four features. One feature is of modern origin, but the remaining three are potentially buried channel features. Of these three features, two may contain intact margin deposits. SEARCH recommends avoiding these two intact margin deposits for any potential seabed-penetrating impacts. If avoidance is not possible, SEARCH recommends additional investigation such as geoarchaeological coring to identify the specific age and nature of any preserved deposits.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Eglin Air Force Base Cultural Resources Archive

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

None: 1492 to 2011

Radiocarbon Date: 15000 to 422

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Southeastern Archaeological Research (SEARCH); Argonne National Laboratory

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