The 2006 and 2007 Field Seasons at Sunken Village

As mentioned, the 2005 erosion of the dike placed on the natural levee facing the intertidal waterlogged portion of the Sunken Village site had threatened the residents of the island, initiating a proposal by the Sauvie Island Drainage Improvement Company (SIDIC) to place protective rip-rap rock along the face of the bank. Since the site is on navigational waters under the authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, field evaluation of this National Historic Landmark archaeological wet site was required to assess the potential effects of placing protective rip rap rock on the channel bank in order to comply with U.S. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Croes et al. 2006). A call for proposals was initiated by the SIDIC in the late summer of 2006 and a South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) proposal in partnership with the Archaeological Investigations Northwest, Inc. (AINW) was awarded (Croes et al. 2006).