Along the Mill Creek, Santiam Interchange

Widening I-5 through Salem and reconfiguring interchanges involved archaeological work at eight sites between 1997 and 2003. The sites were located along the original course of Mill Creek, which was moved when the freeway interchange at the Santiam Highway (SH 22) was built. The sites represent a cultural record spanning the last 6000 years. The photos on this page show: top left, a museum worker maps a camas oven feature; top right, excavation along Interstate 5; immediately above are two photos showing (left) a camas oven dated to 1,300 years ago and (right) the exposed upper rim of a camas oven dated to 5,600 years ago; and, below, excavation of a 1,000-year-old residential site.