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04/09/2999 09:14 9296443002 (R. CTy. PLANNING <br /> • 9 <br /> Proposal for Developing an Archaeological Context for the St. <br /> Mary's Road*Corridor, Orange County, North Carolina <br /> Linda France Stine, Ph.D. <br /> March 22, 1999 <br /> Orange County Is using a landscape perspective to create a preservation plan <br /> for the St. Mary's Road Corridor (SR 1002) (Belk 1999). A landscape approach is an <br /> integrative study of how people shape, and are "shaped by the land In dynamic <br /> cultural and natural contexts. A landscape approach in preservation guides <br /> intordleciplinary research and evaluation of historical propertl&s...[and] fosters a <br /> regional perspective for evaluating and managing a project's historic properties" <br /> (Stine and Stine 1997.189). Interdisciplinary researchers using this perspective will <br /> identify natural and farmland resource areas, scenic viewsheds, and above and below <br /> ground cultural resources (Belk 1999). The approximately 6.4.mile stretch of St. <br /> Mary's Road, beginning at its Intersection with Hwy 70 and continuing eastwards to the <br /> Durham County line, forms the baseline for the project area. <br /> Orange County's Preservation Plan for the St. Mary's Road Corridor will be <br /> predicated, in part, on the results of archaeological and historic structure resources <br /> surveys. This proposal addresses three major tasks associated with investigating the <br /> archaeological properties within the St Mary's Road Corridor (SR1402). The primary <br /> task is to conduct a thorough background study of the known archaeological sites, <br /> standing structures, historic documentary resources, and modern cartographic sourcos <br /> pertaining to the project environs. This background research, Task One, forms the <br /> core of the study, providing information to develop a view of relevant past landscapes. <br /> Task One will also provide data on possible site locations, forming the basis for the <br /> second task, "ground-truthing" site locations. Possible sites Include traces of historic <br /> ivad-fled, artifact scatters, historic and/or prehistoric structural remnants, and/or other <br /> types of cultural remains. <br /> Task Two will entail archaeological site reconnaissance to verify the <br /> presence/absence of c ultliral remains in areas of high potential for prehistoric and <br /> historic sites. Part of this task will be to integrate the data from background and <br /> archaeological field reconnaissance to create an archaeological content for the St. <br /> Mary's Road Corridor. It will provide preservationists, planner's, and the public with a <br /> vision of past land-use patterns, settlement choices, and the cultural Interplay that <br /> occurred in this area. <br /> Task Three entail developing a research design and concomitant scope of work <br /> for future archaeological studies in the project area. This will ovontuaily serve as part <br /> of Orange County's Preservation Plan, enabling residents to place modern Issues <br /> (e.g., erosion, clean water, land-use) within a broader historic context. <br /> 1 <br />