INL has some 70,000 artifact sites

IDAHO FALLS – Archaeologists at the Idaho National Laboratory say there are about 70,000 locations on its 890-square-mile site where thousands of artifacts and fossils remain undiscovered.

The artifacts range from camel bones, spear points and cave paintings dating from 8,000 years ago to a rocking chair left by World War II families stationed at the artillery testing range. That’s just what officials know after documenting 2,100 sites which cover about 10 percent of the facility’s land.

“One of the unintended benefits of closing the site since the 1940s has been the protection of thousands of sites,” said Julie Braun, leader of Idaho National Laboratory’s cultural resource program.

The Department of Energy is responsible for protecting these resources, which also include the landscapes and traditional areas once used by American Indians, said Clayton Marler, an INL archaeologist.

The cultural resource office developed a comprehensive management plan last fall to ensure site managers are aware of federal and state laws that protect historical sites, as well as the DOE’s own policies.

Meanwhile, as INL contractors continue to clean and upgrade the site, there can be a conflict with preserving buildings of historical value slated for demolition.

The Materials Test Reactor, scheduled to be torn down, was the first of its kind when it was built in 1952. It was shut down less than 20 years later and has since been used for laboratory space and offices.

Braun said the old building is costly to preserve and decontaminate as a reactor building, or make it suitable for a museum like EBR-I also on the INL site.

As a compromise, the DOE and the cultural resources team have opted to photograph facilities with historic value and store their architectural plans and other written information for reference after the buildings are razed.

The cultural resources staff has scheduled a public meeting this week to discuss preservation and other issues.