"Intensive Survey Of The Proposed Aragorn Solar Farm On University Land" by Billy D. Turner and Solveig A. Turpin

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Article Title

Intensive Survey Of The Proposed Aragorn Solar Farm On University Lands, Culbertson County, Texas

Authors

Billy D. Turner
Solveig A. Turpin

Agency

Texas Historical Commission

Abstract

IP Aragorn LLC plans to develop a solar farm on a 1,765-acre tract on University Lands (UL) in Culberson County, Texas. In March and April 2018, Turpin and Sons Inc. (TAS) assessed the potential for significant cultural resources under the authority of Texas Antiquities Permit 8374 issued to UL, Aragorn and TAS with Jeff Turpin acting as Principal Investigator. The project area is a barren extent of interfluvial gypsum plain between the Rustler Hills on the east and the Delaware Mountains on the west. One previously recorded site, 41CU558, barely extends to the access road on the northeastern end of the tract, with the majority of the cultural remains outside the boundary. Although the Texas Historical Commission had at one time declared the site eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), neither the first recording nor two subsequent revisits found anything of significance on the site. One newly recorded site, 41CU862, is a scatter of fire-cracked rock and lithic debris that is equally insignificant with no potential for buried or intact deposits. Neither 41CU862 nor the portion of 41CU558 in the Aragorn tract meet eligibility criteria for listing on the NRHP or merit designation as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). No further work nor avoidance measures are recommended in the Aragorn tract.