An Archeological Overview and Management Plan for the Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant, Hancock County, Mississippi

The Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant AAP is the first ammunition plant to have been built by the U.S. Army in more than 25 years. The facility is located on the northern portion of NASAs National Space Technology Laboratory NSTL facility near Bay St. Louis, Hancock County, Mississippi. The 7,148-acre plant manufactures projectiles. Construction began in 1979 and will continue until 1984. A brief reconnaissance survey of cultural resources was conducted in 1974 however, no archeological sites were found or recorded. Information exists for the plant vicinity, however, which indicates that both prehistoric and historic sites occur in the area, and could also occur on the facility property. Prehistoric sites spanning the entire period of human occupation of the area are known, and an important contact-period Indian village is suggested to be in the immediate vicinity. Management recommendations include a staged archival and archeological study in order to develop a data base for use in historic preservation planning. The base cost of this recommended Phase I program is anticipated to cost between 72,200 and 85,560 in FY84 dollars. This proposed program represents an ideal model for cultural resource management at the Mississippi AAP.