PORT ANGELES — The ancestors are coming home, said Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Chairman Francis Charles. The Lower Elwha tribe hopes soon to regrade the ancient site of Tse-whit-zen so it can receive again the human remains it held until 2003.
That’s when excavation of the then-Hood Canal Bridge graving yard began and unearthed artifacts and bones.
Eventually, 337 intact burials and thousands of fragments were disinterred from the place archaeologists said bore evidence of human habitation 2,700 years ago in the crook of Ediz Hook.
“We’re excited,” said Charles, whose “Enough is enough” statement ended graving yard construction at the end of 2004.
Eventually the state lost $18.7 million at the site itself.
Choosing and then abandoning the Port Angeles site added nearly $87 million to the cost for replacing the eastern half of the floating bridge that links the North Olympic Peninsula with the Kitsap Peninsula and the Seattle mainland beyond.
The bridge components are now being built in Tacoma and Seattle.
“We’re a little nervous,” Charles said about the tribe’s plans, “but we’re excited about bringing this to closure.”
