Atlanta is a bustling city with eclectic neighborhoods, each with their own specialties in food, art, and events. Linking many of these neighborhoods is the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (or MARTA) transit system. In the 1970’s, as MARTA rail lines were built, Georgia State University archaeologists helped by excavating sites where the rail lines were to exist. What came out of this joint undertaking, was The Phoenix Project, which is “a trans-disciplinary collaboration at Georgia State University to digitize and describe artifacts from The Phoenix Project collection,” according to the description written as an introduction to Dr. Robin Wharton’s English course. The students of this course worked diligently to record several of the objects from the 469 boxes of artifacts housed in the anthropology department at GSU.
Below is a map of the excavation of a portion of the MARTA system. On the map you can see the North Avenue station at the top of the North/South line of the train system. Following the line south, you will see rail stations marked by a long rectangle, and dig sites marked by a circular dot. Five Points station is clearly marked, and portions of the East/West line are also visible on this map, including an old name for the CNN Center stop: “Techwood Station.” For more information on the excavation visit The Phoenix Lab website. The map is a clickable portal to discovering highlights to Dr. Wharton’s class digitization project, and links for more information.
Excavation Points Along the MARTA Lines