Archaeological Excavations At 38CH884 Longpoint Development, Charleston County, South Carolina

Archaeological data recovery excavations were undertaken at site 38CH884 in Charleston County, South Carolina. Site 38CH884 is a small shell midden including deposits from the Woodland and Mississippian Periods. The site was discovered by Trinkley (1987) and recommended as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places because of its research potential.
Archaeological data recovery was carried out to mitigate impact of future house construction at the site. A primary focus of the data recovery was collection and study of the well preserved faunal material evidenced at the site. Detailed excavation and initial laboratory analysis indicated that the site deposits are heavily disturbed. Actual midden at the site appears to have been redeposited from a nearby primary deposit. This redeposition was apparently designed to patch a low, muddy area within an early historic road. Evidence of the road was found in the form of at least one well-defined wagon rut underlying the prehistoric materials.
The severe mixing of the prehistoric deposits did not allow addressing the original research questions for the study. Consequently, laboratory analysis was attenuated.