Archaeological dig taking place

By Eddie West Staff Writer

For a second time a field located beside Defeated Creek in the northern section of the county is the site of an archaeological dig.

The site is located at the Highway 85/Kempville Highway and Difficult Road intersection and is taking place on the East Tennessee Natural Gas pipeline’s right-of-way which is owned by Enbridge, a Canadian company with U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas.

Enbridge is looking to construct a second pipeline, (Ridgeline Expansion Project), along the existing East Tennessee Natural Gas pipeline’s right-of-way.

The first archaeological dig along the right-of-way took place in the fall of 2023.

“East Tennessee Natural Gas is conducting a second archaeological dig for historical preservation purposes, similar to the first one that was conducted in 2023,” said a spokesperson with Nashville’s Hall Strategies, a consulting company representing Enbridge.

In November of 2023, the spokesperson Hall Strategies explained,“Archaeological digs are done in partnership with the Tennessee Historical Commission to determine if there is any archaeological significance to the area where our project (Ridgeline Expansion Project) work may take place.”

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