RESEARCH DESIGN


The excavations undertaken in the summer of 1993 were designed to more accurately delineate the southern and western boundaries of the village and to learn something of its overall patterning and internal configuration. An important focus of this research design was the investigation of the preserved earthen embankments themselves. The crescent-shaped form of the intact portions of the walls indicated that they represented the eastern edge of a circular settlement. Over the previous two summers, the senior author had directed excavation of another Oliver Phase village (the Clampitt site (12 Lr 329) located in Lawrence County) that was circular in plan and surrounded by a defensive stockade, but lacked earthen walls (Redmond 1994a). The preliminary indications from work at the Cox's Woods site were that it was similar in form, and possibly size, to the Clampitt site, and the embankments reported for the former most likely represented the remains of the stockade barrier. Our excavation strategy was designed, therefore, to test this hypothetical configuration.

The primary objective of the summer 1993 excavation was to build on the preliminary data base accumulated during the spring project and address the following three goals:

(1) to more completely document the nature, cultural affiliation, and temporal placement of the prehistoric occupations of the site,

(2) to provide the Forest Service with documentation and an assessment of past destruction to the site from illegal digging, and

(3) to acquire information necessary for evaluating the historic significance of the property and its eligibility for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.