Catch a glimpse of our region’s past at Discovery Park’s Archaeology Day

In the 1990s, workers expanding King County's West Point Treatment Plant discovered a window to Puget Sound's ancient past: A 3,600-year-old shellfish midden that contained clues to what life was like thousands of years ago.

This Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. participants in Discovery Park's Archaeology Day will have the opportunity to take a walking tour of archaeological sites, see the ancient artifacts of Native Americans that were collected from the midden, and learn about protecting water quality in the region.

Both adults and children will have the chance to learn about how the changing environment is affecting Puget Sound's resources, view historic fishing tools found in the West Point midden and make a salmon trolling hook similar to those discovered at the site.

A midden is an accumulation of debris from ancient times, such as fire cracked rock, hunting and fishing tools and the shells of harvested clams, oysters and other shellfish.

Archaeology Day is a free event and is co-sponsored by the King County Wastewater Treatment Division, the Burke Museum and Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Visitors can check in at the Discovery Park Visitor Center, 3801 W. Government Way, for parking and directions to the event site. For more information, call the Burke Museum Archaeology Division at 206-685-3849.

People enjoy clean water and a healthy environment because of King County's wastewater treatment program. The county's Wastewater Treatment Division protects public health and water quality by serving 17 cities, 17 local sewer districts and more than 1.4 million residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Formerly called Metro, the regional clean-water agency now operated by King County has been preventing water pollution for more than 40 years.