Phase I Archaeological Survey – Survey Area TY-0199, Tyndall Air Force Base, Bay County, Florida

Abstract

In February 2023 WSP USA Environment and Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. (WSP), completed Phase I archaeological survey of area TY-0199 at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) in Bay County Florida (Task Order TY-22-2024). This survey area encompasses a total of 665.7 acres (ac; 269.4 hectares [ha]) divided between seven noncontiguous areas (Areas A-G) located in the northern portion of the base and adjacent to the west and north sides of the base runway. The survey was conducted to meet the requirements of Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665: 16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), as amended, and was completed in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Historic Preservation Projects (Federal Register, Vol. 48, No. 190, September 1983, P. 44716-44742, et seq.), and the Florida Division of Historical Resources (FDHR) Cultural Resource Management Standards and Operations Manual Module Three Guidelines for Use by Historic Preservation Professionals (FDHR 2015). Background research indicated that two previously recorded sites (8BY00190 and 8BY01780) are documented within or adjacent to survey area TY-0199. Site 8BY00190 is a redeposited shell midden of undetermined cultural affiliations and 8BY01780 is a low density Late Woodland (Weeden Island) artifact scatter (Prentice and Campbell 1985 and Wildt et al. 2015a). Both sites have been recommended as ineligible for the NRHP. No additional cultural materials associated with these sites were documented during the current survey. A total of 203 Survey Shovel Tests (21.07 m3) were excavated as part of this task order. Pedestrian survey and visual inspection of the survey area determined that 378.8 ac (156.9 ha) were inundated with water at the surface. Approximately 17.5 ac (7 ha) was disturbed by base infrastructure such as runways, a radar tower, retention ponds, and buried utilities construction. Additionally, approximately 1.7 ac (0.7 ha) were unable to be accessed for survey given the occurrence of large debris piles containing unconsolidated asphalt and concrete fragments dispersed amongst deeply gouged pits and covered in a moderate amount of underbrush. This corresponded to an area assessed as having a higher potential for containing archaeological deposits. While access into the area was attempted, the overall conditions made for unsafe access and no shovel tests were completed in this area. Review of modern aerial images depicts the breadth of this disturbance and, coupled soil alterations observed such as the deep pits suggests the area is unlikely to contain any significant, intact archaeological deposits. In summary, no new sites or archaeological occurrences were identified during the current survey. Two previously recorded sites within the boundary had been recommended as not eligible, and no additional archaeological materials were found to suggest alteration of these recommendations. Therefore, WSP recommends no further archaeological work within the TY-0199 survey area.