The Denton Reed II site was identified during a Phase 1 survey in 2002 and a subsequent Phase 2 site examination in 2008 through a combination of systematic surface collection and shovel test pits (Kastl 2002; Rudler 2008a). Archaeologists recovered: 20 pieces of lithic debitage, 2 bifacial tools, 3 projectile points, 1 groundstone tool, 1 netweight, and a single glass bead. The lithic debitage types include cortical flakes, cortical chunk/shatter, non-cortical flakes, and flaked amorphous cores.
A Phase 2 site examination was conducted in the same year (2008) to evaluate the National Register potential of the Denton Reed II site (Rudler 2008b). The site examination field methods consisted of an additional systematic surface survey, the excavation of 23 1 x 1 m (3.3 x 3.3 ft) units, and 92 shovel test pits (STPs) placed at 5 m (16.4 ft) intervals within the site boundaries. The site examination excavations recovered 50 precontact pieces of material culture, 20 historic Native American pieces of material culture, and two historic artifacts from the units, STPs, and surface collection. Diagnostic projectile points recovered indicate that the site was used repeatedly by Native American groups from the Late Archaic to Early Woodland Periods. The presence of a tight cluster of glass trade beads also suggests a potential early-eighteenth century period of site use; the tight clustering of beads in only three units further suggests that the material culture likely came from a single ornament.
Based on the material culture assemblage and site context, PAF recommended that portions of the larger Denton Reed II site were eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. PAF therefore recommended an avoidance of impacts to the central area of the site or a Phase 3 mitigation if avoidance measures were not be possible. Avoidance of the site impacts was not a possibility for the client and in March of 2019 PAF completed a data recovery plan (DRP) outlining field work measures to mitigate these likely impacts (Kudrle 2019). Our fieldwork recommendations were reviewed by the client (Clark Gravel Products), NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP). All parties concurred with the recommendations for the Phase 3 mitigation outlined in the DRP, and from May 7th through June 13th, 2019, PAF archaeologists completed the data recovery field work for the Denton Reed II site.