Archaeological Services at Sapelo Island - 2019

SIMPAP field investigations are planned for a 3-4 week period in July, 2019. Archaeological investigations proposed for summer 2019 will focus on the excavation of one or more ground penetrating radar (GPR) anomalies first identified during surveys conducted in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Results of the surveys indicate that a large anomaly is present just north of Shell Ring II in an area where previous excavations have identified numerous artifacts and features associated with the island’s 17th century Guale Indian or Spanish occupations (Figure 1). Previous testing of several nearby small GPR anomalies (Figure 2) recovered Mission period artifacts, providing support for the large anomaly also dating to the Mission period. Based on the anomaly’s size and shape, it may mark the location of a Mission period structure.