Description

Archaeological Site Boundary Testing and Data Recovery Plan for Dutch Canal Ruin Within the NANT Property, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona (TR2012-10)

The City of Phoenix Aviation Department, for the purpose of compliance with City ordinances, requested archaeological site boundary testing for the Dutch Canal Ruin, AZ T:12:62 (ASM), within the city-owned NANT property west of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The property is being considered for proposed Sky Harbor Center redevelopment. Seven archaeological features were identified during testing, including a large prehistoric canal (formerly named the Barranca canal), two areas of insubstantial prehistoric cultural debris, a rock-filled pit, an informal historic cow burial, and two historic septic features. The ephemeral nature and widely scattered distribution of the few prehistoric features, coupled with minimal artifact content, indicates an extremely low probability that any concentration of prehistoric features is present within the tested area. The results strongly suggest that the tested project area is at or just outside the southern margin of the Dutch Canal Ruin site.