Answering your questions

‘What are you doing out there on Highway 116?’

It's the Palmetto Creek Archaeological Study in Harris County, Georgia, funded by the Federal Highway Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation. Archaeological and Geo-morphological studies are being conducted at three important Native American Indian sites before the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) widens Highway 116 east of Hamilton, Georgia. During the winter and early spring of 2006, archaeologists from Southern Research, Historic Preservation Consultants, Inc. of Waverly Hall, Georgia, will excavate portions of the site that will be impacted by the proposed highway widening. During the fieldwork, we will inform the public of our findings through this web site and the local media. At present, unscheduled visitors are not permitted on site because of safety considerations.

The Native American archaeological sites located along Palmetto Creek are situated in the floodplain and are deeply buried beneath sediments deposited by floods. Artifacts recovered during previous studies at the sites suggest that the Indians lived here from about 9,000 years ago to perhaps a thousand years ago. The research goals of the study include learning how the Native Americans who lived in what is now Harris County adapted to changing climates and environments, how the archaeological sites came to be buried up to three feet deep, and how long it took to bury the sites. Click here for the answers to our top 10 most frequently asked questions.

Georgia Law prohibits the unauthorized collection of artifacts, digging or any other disturbance on this important prehistoric archaeological site (Official Code of Georgia, Sections 12-3-10, 12-3-52; and 12-3-80 to 83). Law Enforcement and Security personnel patrol this site and will enforce the law to the maximum extent possible.