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Agency
Texas Historical Commission
Abstract
In January and April 2014, an intensive archeological survey was completed in order to inventory and evaluate archeological resources within six proposed work areas, primarily potential shaft locations, along a proposed 3.7-kilometer (km) or 2.8-mile wastewater interceptor pipeline adjacent to Parmer Lane, also known as Farm-to-Market (FM) Road 734 in northwest Austin, Travis and Williamson Counties, Texas. The six areas—two along the southwest side of Parmer Lane and four along the northeast side—cover a total of 9.7 hectares or 24 acres. The work was carried out for the City of Austin under Texas Antiquities Permit 6713 by Cox|McLain Environmental Consulting, Inc. (CMEC), a subcontractor to Kennedy-Jenks Consultants.
Ground visibility was moderate to high within the APE, which was found to be extensively disturbed. Soils were generally thin and clayey, with frequent limestone bedrock exposures. Seventeen shovel tests were excavated where disturbance appeared minimal and ground visibility decreased. None yielded materials of archeological interest. Non-diagnostic lithic flakes and tested cobbles/choppers were observed sparsely scattered on the surface of the APE at an approximate density of one artifact per 100-500 square meters, as is common throughout central Texas. The APE is mapped as overlapping three previously recorded sites, 41TV857, 41WM585, and 41WM971; however, no materials or features were observed that might contribute to National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or State Antiquities Landmark (SAL) eligibility at any of these sites. Further, no deposits or materials meriting recordation as new sites (e.g., activity areas, dense concentrations of artifacts, etc.) were observed. Half of the project’s 17 shovel test units were placed at or near surface finds. The only cultural item recovered from a subsurface context was a modern golf ball.
No further archeological investigation is recommended prior to construction at any of the shaft locations.
No materials were collected; therefore, this project generated no archeological materials to be curated. Notes, forms, and other project data will be made permanently available to future researchers via an appropriate public facility per TAC 26.16 and 26.17.
No artifacts were collected; project records including notes, forms, and photographs will be curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL), per TAC 26.16 and 26.17. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) concurred with the findings and recommendations of this report on January 5, 2015 (see Appendix A).
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