Avon Park Air Force Range: Phase I Survey of Selected Areas and Phase II Testing at Site 8HG20/8HG27, 8PO1007, and 8PO6084, 2008-2009

During the winter of 2008–2009, Geo-Marine, Inc., conducted cultural resources survey and site evaluations at Avon Park Air Force Range in Polk and Highlands counties, Florida. Investigations included a Phase I archaeological survey of eight selected, noncontiguous tracts in five different areas covering approximately 1,580 acres. Survey was based on previously determined zones of high, medium, and low probability for archaeological sites, with the goal of identifying all cultural resources within the selected tracts. The Phase II investigations were carried out at three previously recorded sites to assess the current site boundaries and the contextual integrity of the sites. The Phase I survey identified two new prehistoric archaeological sites (8HG1141 and 8HG1142). An additional new site was identified during investigations of previously recorded 8PO6084 and was designated 8PO7248, a historic tramline. Phase II assessments were conducted at three previously recorded sites: 8PO1007, 8PO6084, and the 8HG20/8HG27 site complex. None of the newly recorded sites as well as 8PO6084 was considered eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
Archaeological sites 8PO1007 and the site complex of 8HG20/8HG27 had previously been recommended eligible for NRHP inclusion, and those recommendations are considered still valid after the current investigations. Site 8PO6084 was considered not eligible for inclusion in the National Register.