An Archaeological Survey of the Wabash Floodplain in Posey and Gibson Counties, Indiana

This report presents the results of an archaeological survey of the Wabash River Valley in Posey and Gibson Counties, Indiana. The survey was initiated by the National Park Service. In response to the proposed Cross Wabash Waterway. The plan, although still in preliminary stages proposes to make the Wabash River navigable by the construction of a series of canals, locks, and dams. The danger to archaeological resources in the area results from the cutting of canals and the flooding of areas by the locks and dams.

The Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology under the terms of a contract between the Indiana University Foundation and the National Park Service carried out the archaeological survey in Indiana from near the mouth of the Wabash to Mount Carmel, Illinois. The University of Illinois conducted the survey on the Illinois side of the river. The Army Corps of Engineers in Louisville provided topographic maps showing the proposed route of the canal and the estimated pool stages behind the two locks and the two dams. Because of the preliminary nature of the waterway, it was decided that the survey should try to cover as much of the river valley as possible so that future changes in the plans could be evaluated in terms of the archaeological materials that might be destroyed.