Contractor gets OK to resume Bertha unearthing

Update 2:35 p.m. And we're back. Excavating that is. State archaeologists gave Seattle Tunnel Partners the go-ahead yesterday to resume work on the pit needed to access and repair Bertha, the damaged boring machine digging the Highway 99 tunnel. Work on the pit stopped after a deposit of shells was discovered on Oct. 23.Initially there were concerns that the shells might have had archaeological significance for local Indian tribes. But the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, working with representatives from the tribes and King County, determined that the deposit was likely left over from commercial shellfishing activities carried out by Seattleites in the early 1900s. (Crosscut's Knute Berger first reported last week that the shells were not of ancient, indigenous origin.) In a statement on Monday, Washington State Department of Transportation said that, while work resumes, further laboratory tests will be conducted to gather more information about the shells. Many of the shells appear to be from Olympia oysters, which were heavily harvested in early commercial shellfishing but later declined. Bertha encountered mechanical problems last December and has barely moved since then. So far, no odds have been established on whether future Seattleites, digging on the waterfront, will find an ancient boring machine. — B.L.