Village of Gitsaex
The village of Gitsaex is situated at the upper end of Kitselas Canyon across the river from Gitlaxdzawk. The name Gitsaex means 'people who live at the edge of the lake' which is a reference to the bay located near the village. The village is situated on a bench about five metres above the high water line.
Gitsaex
was once a large village. A site survey found the remains of seventeen houses.
The houses were arranged in two rows overlooking the river. There were eight houses
in the front row and nine in the back row. Also uncovered were six post or pole
holes indicating where the poles and posts were located. Some of the houses were
quite impressive as the average floor size was 10 metres by 10 metres. The two
largest houses were 10.9 metres by 13.6 metres and 13.1 metres by 10.8 metres.
Some of the largest houses also had excavated floors for additional living and
storage space. At an average of thirty people per house, at least five hundred
people would have lived in Gitsaex. All that remains at Gitsaex are the house
depressions and the remains of highly decayed poles and posts including the post
holes.