DIAMOND POINT — Investigators Tuesday were processing a site off Diamond Point Road where the skeletal remains of a Native American were found last month, Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict said.
The remains, thought to be at least 200 years old, were discovered Aug. 23 by a contractor who was backfilling a hole on a privately owned lot in which a septic tank had been placed, according to Sheriff’s Detective Tom Reyes.
The remains — which included part of a skull, some long bones and some bone fragments — were discovered in the backfill material.
Work on the site has been halted.
Reyes said he expects dirt-sifting and other work related to the remains will be finished by Thursday.
The bones are believed to be at least a couple of centuries old — or even thousands of years old, said state Physical Anthropologist Guy Tasa, who was processing the site Tuesday.
“All we have is one burial,” Tasa said.
“We haven’t found anything to indicate there is another individual.”
Features of the skull and teeth indicate the person was Native American, he said.
“There was nothing on anyone’s radar that it might be here,” Tasa said.
The remains that were found were not enough to determine the gender and age of the person, he added.
Nine tribes have been notified, including the Makah, Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam and Quileute.
The state Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation has custody of the remains.
“Cost-wise and from the tribes’ perspective, they would really like to see the remains left in place and not removed,” Tasa said.
Tasa said he hopes the landowner can move forward soon with the septic field project.
“There may be a little delay, but we hope to get him back on track.”
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
