Has one of your onsite system installs ever encroached on an ancient American Indian burial grounds? Apparently the situation isn’t all that rare … and it can bring a project to a standstill and cost the property owner a lot of money.

The Seattle Times newspaper published a fascinating article this week outlining the work of a Washington State anthropologist in charge of tracking and reburying excavated human remains. Guy Tasa has 120 boxes of human bones in his office – some of them brought out of the ground during septic system installations.

Washington has a program in place to stop work when centuries-old remains are found, and officials look for a suitable resolution to returning the bones for proper burial following the rituals of tribal members. The state has even developed a fund to help property owners pay the cost of archeological work required by the state.

Read the full article here:

Seattle Times story

Has your excavator turned up ancient bones, historic artifacts or other unusual items? Tell us about it right here.

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