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DocuSign Envelope ID: 2D970A62 -10C1- 4949 - 9224- E9F2ADB7D568 <br />2. Close - Interval Shovel Testing <br />While shovel tests are primarily excavated to locate sites and define site boundaries, close - <br />interval shovel tests may be excavated to help define site integrity. This includes <br />documenting soil stratigraphy, artifact counts and distributions, and the presence /absence <br />of culturally derived features or stratigraphy. <br />Close- interval shovel tests should be placed no greater than 15 m apart, and when possible <br />intermediate to tests previously dug to delineate the site. All shovel tests should be <br />excavated and recorded as described above (Section III c1, Shovel Testing). They should <br />be clearly marked in the field and placed on project maps, preferably using GPS <br />technology. <br />3. Soil Coring and Augering <br />Soil coring and augering are useful for investigating soils to determine whether they are <br />likely to contain intact cultural deposits, or to examine soil variation across a delineated <br />site. Cores and augers can be used either judgmentally, as part of a reconnaissance survey, <br />or systematically within a survey area or site. Coring and augering should not be used as a <br />means of identifying sites, but may be used to identify features within sites. <br />Augers are best used to examine soil conditions in areas where deeply- buried deposits are <br />possible due to alluvial, colluvial, and aeolian processes, since augers may be used to <br />examine soils to depths beyond what is accessible through shovel testing. Notes should be <br />kept on each auger test documenting soil stratigraphy using USDA soil descriptions and <br />Munsell color codes, and auger test locations should be clearly marked in the field and <br />placed on project maps. <br />Soil core probes 1/2- to 3/4 -inch in diameter are appropriate for systematically assessing <br />soil conditions across a site. If a systematic core survey is to be conducted, a study grid <br />should first be established. The study grid should be tied into a datum, and the datum <br />should be mapped, preferably with GPS technology. Coverage should be systematic within <br />the study grid. Notes should be kept on each core documenting soil stratigraphy using <br />USDA soil descriptions and Munsell color codes. <br />4. Test Unit Excavation <br />The number and distribution of excavation units should be determined by the information <br />collected from shovel tests or other survey methods, such as remote sensing. The number <br />and placement of test units may vary according to site size, distribution of artifacts, and <br />any features or cultural strata encountered during site survey and delineation activities. <br />Test units may vary in size based on the extent of site boundaries, topography, and soil <br />conditions. The size of any one unit should range from a minimum of 0.5 -m square to 2 -m <br />square, with 1 square meter being considered the standard test unit size. <br />Units should be excavated in set arbitrary levels within natural stratigraphy, such as fluvial <br />deposits. Arbitrary levels of 10 cm are typical. The thickness of excavation levels in cultural <br />stratigraphy should vary according to the nature of the deposit. Where present, the plow <br />zone can be excavated as a single level, regardless of thickness. Midden soils may be <br />North Carolina Oce of State Archaeology — Archaeological Investigation Standard and Guidelines December 2017) Page 12 <br />