20191173 Ver 1_R.120 NoSitesPresent Archaeological Survey_20190904

Project Tracking No.:
18-10-0051
NO NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
as ELIGIBLE OR LISTED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
PRESENT FORM
u .¢;o. 3 . AP This form only pertains to ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES for this project. It is not
valid for Historic Architecture and Landscapes. You must consult separately with the
Historic Architecture and Landscapes Group.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project No: R-120 County: Stanly
WBS No: 17BP.10.R.120 Document: MCC
F.A. No: na Funding: ® State ❑ Federal
Federal Permit Required? ® Yes ❑ No Permit Type: USACE; DENR
Project Description: This project entails the replacement of Bridge No. 192 on SR 1238, Flint Ridge
Road, west of Bloomington (PA 18-10-0051, WBS# I 7BP. I O.R. 1520) in Stanly County, North Carolina.
No preliminary designs were available at the time of request for archaeological input. The area of
potential effects (APE) measures 750 feet (nearly 228.6 meters) in length and 200 feet (60.96 meters) in
width (Figure 1). The APE encompasses 3.5 acres (nearly 1.42 hectares).
SUMMARY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Archaeology Group reviewed the subject
project and determined:
® There are no National Register listed or eligible ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
present within the project's area of potential effects. (Attach any notes or
documents as needed)
❑ No subsurface archaeological investigations were required for this project.
® Subsurface investigations did not reveal the presence of any archaeological
resources.
❑ Subsurface investigations did not reveal the presence of any archaeological resources
considered eligible for the National Register.
® All identified archaeological sites located within the APE have been considered and
all compliance for archaeological resources with Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act and GS 121-12(a) has been completed for this project.
Brief description of'review activities, results of review, and conclusions:
The review of site maps and files at the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology (OSA) was
conducted on November 19, 2018. No archaeological sites were previously recorded in the APE, but
there are several sites in the immediate vicinity. As part of the environmental studies for two proposed
reservoirs in the Rocky River Basin, archaeologists with Wake Forest University conducted a sample
survey of areas that were located upstream of each proposed dam site and below the impoundment
elevation (Abbott et al. 1987:3-1 through 3-22). The survey area along Big Bear Creek and its tributaries
"NO NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBLE OR LISTED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES PRESENT"
form far Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2007 Programmatic Agreement.
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Project Tracking No.:
18-10-0051
encompassed physiographic features below 152 meters above mean sea level (AMSL). This area was
divided into three sampling clusters. Topographic features were identified in each cluster and divided
into one -hectare units, which were then selected for random sample surveys. In the vicinity of the current
project, sites 31 ST73-31 ST80 and 31 ST82-31 ST85 were identified through this methodology. These
were characterized as relatively low -density precontact sites, and assigned to the Early Archaic (31 ST74,
31 ST82) or Middle Archaic (31 ST73, 31 ST82) when diagnostic artifacts were found. None of these sites
were recommended for further investigation.
Data provided on the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office HPOWEB GIS Service
(http://gis.ncdcr.gov/hpoweb� revealed only one recorded historic property within a 0.5-mile radius of the
proposed project: Bridge No. 52 over Big Bear Creek (ST0807). No known cemeteries are within this
radius.
An examination of soils in Stanly County presented on the National Resources Conservation Service Web
Soil Survey (http://websoilsurvey.nres.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx) indicates the following soil
types are mapped in the APE: Badin channery silt loam, 2-8 percent slopes (BaB); Badin channery silt
loam, 8-15 percent slopes (BaD); and Oakboro silt loam, 0-2 percent slopes, frequently flooded (OaA)
(Soil Survey Staff 2019) (Table 1). Most soils in the APE were well drained or moderately well drained
silt loams found on interfluves, hillslopes, and floodplains. Approximately 10.9% of the APE was
mapped as water.
Table 1. Soil Types in the Area of Potential Effects (APE)
Soil Type
Percent of
Permeability
Locations
SurveyAreas
Badin channery silt loam, 2-8 percent
19.4%
Well -drained
Interfluves
slopes
Badin channery silt loam, 8-15 percent
0.5%
Well -drained
Hillslopes on Ridges
slopes
Oakboro silt loam, 0-2 percent slopes,
69.2%
Moderately Well-
Floodplains
frequently flooded
drained
Water
10.9%
-
-
The APE is shown on the USGS 7.5-minute Frog Pond topographic map. The study area is in the Lower
Yadkin sub basin of the Yadkin -Pee Dee River Basin (North Carolina Department of Environmental
Quality 2003). The closest source of water is Big Bear Creek, which directly intersects the APE and Flint
Ridge Road. Land use in the APE includes agricultural fields, wooded areas, and disturbed areas (Figures
2a-2c).
New South Associates, Inc. (New South) conducted an intensive shovel testing survey of the APE in
March 2019. Shovel tests were excavated at 30-meter interval to identify archaeological resources that
may be impacted by the proposed bridge replacement. The fieldwork also included visual inspection in
areas with high ground surface visibility, such as agricultural fields. New South pre -plotted 12 shovel
tests within the APE (Figure 3, Table 2). Four of these could not be excavated because of surface water.
Shovel tests measured approximately 30 centimeters in diameter and were excavated into sterile subsoil,
the water table, a natural impasse, or the maximum feasible depth (approximately 1 meter). Soils were
screened through 0.25-inch hardware cloth. No additional shovel tests were excavated and the survey did
not identify any archaeological sites within the APE.
"NO NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBLE OR LISTED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES PRESENT"
form far Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2007 Programmatic Agreement.
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Project Tracking No.:
18-10-0051
Table 2. Shovel Test Summary
Shovel
Level
Depth
Depth
Munsell
Color
Soil
Artifacts
Notes
Test
(Top)
Base
Texture
27
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Not Excavated
-Surface Water
28
1
0
10
1OR5/8
Red
Silty Clay
-
Heavily
Disturbed
29
1
0
10
2.5YR2.5/4
Dk Reddish Brown
Silty Clay
-
-
2
10
20
1OR4/8
Red
Clay
-
30
1
0
15
5YR4/3
Reddish Brown
Clay
-
-
31
1
0
10
2.5YR2.5/4
Dk Reddish Brown
Silty Clay
-
-
2
10
20
1OR4/8
Red
Clay
32
1
0
10
10YR4/3
Brown
Silty
-
Gravel Fill
Loam
33
1
0
10
2.5YR2.5/4
Dk Reddish Brown
Silty Clay
-
-
2
10
20
1OR4/8
Red
Clay
34
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Not Excavated
-Surface Water
35
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Not Excavated
-Surface Water
36
1
0
20
1 OYR4/3
Brown
Silty
-
Water at base
Loam
37
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Not Excavated
-Surface Water
38
1
0
40
1 OYR4/3
Brown
Silty
-
Water at base
Loam
The stratigraphic sequence in the APE varied by location. The soils in the northwest, southwest, and
southeast areas of the APE are disturbed, probably as a result of modern construction of the road, the
bridge, and ditches. STP 28, located in the northwest corner of the APE, exposed red (10R 5/8) silty clay
containing 40 percent angular rocks. The first stratigraphic layer of STP 29, in the southwest corner of
the APE, consisted of dark reddish brown (2.5YR 5/4) silty clay. This stratum extended 10 centimeters
below the ground surface and capped red (10R 4/8) clay (Figure 5). STP 30, in the southeast corner of the
APE, revealed reddish brown (5YR 4/3) clay. STP 38, in the northeast portion of the APE, encountered
brown (10YR 4/3) silty loam to a minimum depth of 40 centimeters, at which point the water table was
encountered.
Summary of Findings
In March of 2019, New South conducted an intensive archaeological survey of the APE for the proposed
replacement of Bridge No. 192 on SR 1238 (R-120) in Stanly County, North Carolina. Fieldwork
included the excavation of 12 shovel tests. The survey determined that there are no archaeological sites
within the APE. No additional work is recommended. If the project expands and impacts subsurface
areas beyond the defined APE, further archaeological studies may be necessary.
Samantha Taylor
Archaeologist
New South Associates, Inc.
"NO NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBLE OR LISTED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES PRESENT"
form far Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2007 Programmatic Agreement.
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Project Tracking No.:
18-10-0051
Figure List
Figure 1. Location of Area of Potential Effects (APE)
Figure 2. Photographs of the APE
Figure 3. Shovel Test Pit Locations within the APE
Figure 4. Photograph of STP 29
Table List
Table 1. Soil Types in the Area of Potential Effects (APE)
Table 2. Shovel Test Summary
References
Abbott, Lawrence, Erica E. Sanborn, R.J. Marshall, Ned Woodall, and Michele N. Vacca
1987 An Archaeological Survey of Three Proposed Reservoir Areas, Rocky River Basin, North
Carolina. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Wilmington District.
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
2003 Yadkin -Pee Dee River Basin. https:Hdeq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/planning/basin-
planning/water-resource-plans/yadkin-pee-dee-2003, accessed March 20, 2019.
Soil Survey Staff
2019 Web Soil Survey of Selected Area in Stanly County, North Carolina. Natural Resources
Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION
See attached: ® Map(s) ❑ Previous Survey Info
Signed:
/ � T
NCDOT ARCHAEOLOGIST
® Photos ❑Correspondence
May 7, 2019
Date
"NO NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBLE OR LISTED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES PRESENT"
form far Minor Transportation Projects as Qualified in the 2007 Programmatic Agreement.
4 of 4

Stanly
County
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553
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r
Source: USGS Frog Pond, North Carolina Quadrangle
Figure 1.
Location of Area of Potential Effects (APE)
APE
L.
IVI
�� )��J
Mir
0
APE
0 500 1,000 Feet
0 150 300 Meters

Figure 2.
Photographs of the APE
APE Facing Southeast
APE Facing West
APE Facing
Northwest

Stanly
County
Ee
o Negative Shovel Test
® Not Excavated
L — I APE
0 50 100 Feet
l i l i l
N
0 15 30 Meters
32
O
Figure 3.
Shovel Test Pit Location within APE

Figure 4.
Photograph of STP 29
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