Cemochechobee

Summary

The Walter F. George Lock and Dam is a United States Army Corps of Engineers project located south of Columbus, Georgia on the eastern bank of the Chattahoochee River. Prior to the construction of the dam, there were already obvious indications that the Cemochechobee site (9CY62, formerly 9CLA62) was rapidly being eroded due to the ebb and flow of the Chattahoochee River. Prior to the archaeological salvage of Cemochechobee, the dam had also significantly damaged that portion of the site facing the river whenever the Walter F. George Dam released large quantities of water.

In response, the Corps of Engineers called for bids to assess the damage to the Cemochechobee site. The Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts, Inc. was selected to appraise the condition of the site, with Frank T. Schnell chosen as the Principle Investigator. The Columbus Museum’s proposal included a three-phase program of reconnaissance, testing, and mitigation designed to salvage the material which could not be preserved in situ. They also proposed a plan to prevent further deterioration from occurring.

Phase I was designated as a surface reconnaissance. During this process, it was decided that considerable underbrush needed to be cleared from the site area while retaining enough undergrowth to prevent further erosion. The site was then mapped in detail and subdivided into a metric grid pattern for horizontal and vertical control of data retrieval. The data acquired during this phase was then processed and analyzed to provide guidelines for moving on to Phase II.

Given the extent and extant nature of the site, coupled with the imminent destruction via water erosion, the Corps of Engineers concurred with the Columbus Museum to eliminate the testing phase. As such, the Columbus Museum began full-scale Phase III mitigation of Cemochechobee. In the midst of the mitigation, the Columbus Museum further contracted with the National Park Service for supplementary funding to fully excavate Mound B (XUB). Thus the documentation and excavated material from 9CY62 constitute one investigatory unit. At the close of the contract, the Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts, Inc., agreed to care for the materials and data in perpetuity or to transfer this responsibility to another organization agreed upon by the United States Army Corp of Engineers. This report serves as a description of the Cemochechobee Associated Documentation and preservation of said materials prior to transfer of the materials and data to the approved repository at the University of Georgia, Athens.

The digital materials in this collection were processed by the Veterans Curation Program (VCP) and include the artifact catalog, select artifact photographs, artifact report, finding aid, oversized materials database, photographic materials spreadsheet, and scanned assets. Additional digital materials held by the VCP include additional artifact images, documents removed, electronic materials, folder number and title inventory, oversized photo and tape inventories, oversized tube inventories, and records removal sheets. For additional information on these materials, refer to the Finding Aid.

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, St. Louis District

Contributor(s): Brockington and Associates, Inc.

Principal Investigator(s): Frank T. Schnell

Landowner(s): US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District

Sponsor(s): US Army Corps of Engineers Mandatory Center of Expertise for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections, St. Louis District; US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District

Repository(s): University of Georgia, Laboratory of Archaeology, Athens, Georgia

Prepared By(s): Veterans Curation Program

Submitted To(s): US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District

Notes

General Note: The digital materials in this collection were processed by the Veterans Curation Program (VCP) and include the artifact catalog, select artifact photographs, artifact report, finding aid, oversized materials database, photographic materials spreadsheet, and scanned assets. Additional digital materials held by the VCP include additional artifact images, documents removed, electronic materials, folder number and title inventory, oversized photo and tape inventories, oversized tube inventories, and records removal sheets. For additional information on these materials, refer to the Finding Aid.

Source Collections

Cemochechobee collection stored at University of Georgia, Laboratory of Archaeology, Athens, Georgia.