Site	Excavation

Altamaha Town was the head town of the Lower Towns of the Yamasee. The chief of Altamaha Town is mentioned in numerous contemporary documents as being one of the most important individuals among the Yamasee during the entire thirty years represented by their presence in South Carolina. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was occupied intermittently from at least 1500 BC to AD 1715 based on various pottery types recovered during testing and excavations. Altamaha Town was definitely located on the nominated tract from 1707-1715, and it may have been located there as early as 1695. The site contains at least two pre-Yamasee period burial mounds. The research at Altamaha Town revealed that the town was not a compact, easily defensible community as might be expected, but was instead a village composed of dispersed households spaced seventy-five to one hundred meters apart over an area of as much as 125 acres. Approximately 40 houses were once present at Altamaha Town. Listed in the National Register January 21, 1994.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property. In addition, the Historic Resources of Yemasee Indian Towns in the South Carolina Lowcountry, 1684-1715 includes historical background information for this and other related National Register properties.

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