TRC Companies, Inc. has completed an archaeological data recovery project for the South Carolina Department of Transportation to assess artifacts from a prehistoric site that was discovered during the widening of Highway U.S. 378 in Florence County. The artifacts, which will be placed in the Florence County Museum after cleaning and processing, will help the community better understand how people lived thousands of years ago in the Northeast section of South Carolina.
“TRC is proud to be a part of this historically significant project in South Carolina,” said Project Manager Sean Norris. “We are committed to helping our clients successfully complete their projects while protecting the environment and preserving vital information about ancient ways of life.”
Since the site’s original discovery in 2009, TRC has conducted a number of archaeological surveys and test excavations to assess the nature of the site and its artifacts. Data recovery began in July 2013. Over eight weeks, TRC carefully collected soil samples and artifacts including pottery fragments and chips of stone fragments from arrowheads, drills, knives, scrapper tools, hammers and possible gaming pieces. The artifacts, whose relative age ranges from 10,000 to 1,000 years old, are currently being cleaned and analyzed. The project has involved the participation of local Native American tribes, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, Florence County, and the Catawba Indian Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Office.
“Tremendous care has been taken to ensure that all materials uncovered during the fieldwork will be stabilized and processed for curation at the Florence County Museum,” said Chad Long, Archaeologist/NEPA Coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Transportation. “We are looking forward to reviewing the results of TRC’s investigations at the site and learning more about the prehistory of the region.”
