Ye Pleasant Mount: 1989 1990 Excavations - Open site which ...

Chapter 1.
Introduction & Methodology
Introduction
This reports details historical and archaeological research on the Mount Pleasant site
(9Ef169) in Effingham County, Georgia. Survey and excavation was undertaken there in
1989 and 1990 by the LAMAR Institute. The site boundaries were defined by
systematically aligned shovel tests. One locale, Trader Point, was further investigated by
two block excavation units totalling 23m 2 . These block units contained a rich midden
deposit and 23 features. Components identified on the site span the early to mid-eighteenth
century. This locality formerly contained a Yuchi Indian village, British trader factory, and
ranger garrison. This study is particulary important because it represents the first in depth
look at the archaeological manifestations of the Yuchi tribe--a tribe that has eluded
historians and archaeologists for more than a century. This research is part of an ongoing
project by the LAMAR Institute to investigate eighteenth-century settlements within the
Savannah River watershed.
Mount Pleasant is located northeast of Clyo, Georgia on a high bluff overlooking the
Savannah River in Effingham County (Figure 1). The site lies within the interior coastal
plain approximately 45 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Today the site is in a mixed pine and
hardwood growth area, but earlier in the twentieth century most of the site was under
cultivation. The portion ofthe site identified as Trader Point probably was never cultivated
because of its topographic setting. Mount Pleasant gets its name from its physical form.
Within a few meters of the west bank of the Savannah River, the land rises abruptly to
more than 90 feet above the river. From the crest of Mount Pleasant there is a clear view
that stretches more than 10 miles to the east. Although there are many pronounced bluffs
adjacent to the Savannah River floodplain in this region of the river valley, most of them
abutt river swamp rather than the main river channel.
At Mount Pleasant the river is very near the bluff, and it is a likely reason that this area
became an important river crossing. This prominence was an obvious attraction for man.
Its imposing form and steep approach makes it a defensible position from attack by the
river. The presence of several springs on the bluff slopes insured a convenient supply of
drinking water, especially important during times of siege. A wide variety ofplants grow
on the shady sheltered slopes, many more common to the piedmont and mountain regions
than the coastal plain. The vegetation, topography, ,and panoramic view give Mount
Pleasant a pleasing quality which is still evident today.
The settlement began as a Yuchi Indian village. Though the exact year ofits settlement
1