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Agency
Texas Historical Commission
Abstract
Between May 21 and 31, 2012, Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted archeological and geoarcheological investigations over a 93-acre area proposed for construction of the new Baylor University football stadium in Waco, Texas. The work included visual assessment of the project area, excavation of 63 trenches, and collection of 4 Geoprobe sediment core samples. Deep trench excavations were hampered by an elevated water table. As a result, most observations were limited to deposits at depths of 3 m or less, though the sediment cores did provide information to depths of 5.5–11.0 m. The investigations determined that all but the northern edge of the project area is on a lower alluvial surface that was created by a series of Brazos River flood events over the last 200–300 years and that has a very low potential for prehistoric archeological sites. The higher alluvial surface at the north edge of the project also is blanketed with these recent deposits, with a buried soil found through coring at a depth of 7.5 m suggesting that deep burial of cultural material of Holocene age is possible here.
The survey identified a single historic archeological site, 41ML301, consisting of a railroad bed that was abandoned between 1957 and 1970; it is not considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The potential for the project to impact undiscovered archeological resources is low to nonexistent because of the recent age of the deposits, the fact that the area never saw much historic development, and the fact that much of it has been disturbed. Prewitt and Associates, Inc., recommends that the project be allowed to proceed without additional archeological work.
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