Saturday, July 30, 2011

Excavation in Arnhem Land

I returned to Arnhem Land, Northern Territories for a two week research trip in July. Joining a research team of about 14 students and 12 professors, groups of us set out on daily 8-hour expeditions to search for undiscovered rock art sites. We found 30+ sites, and I took part in documenting, photographing, and drawing the art for conservation and research purposes.


This area is closed to non-Aboriginal people without a permit, yet we were given special permission by the community elders (specifically Jacob whom you will see in the video below) to camp there, record rock art, and excavate near a cave shelter site. 


The local news did a story on our research team (I am shown at the excavation pit at minute 4:42!):






A shelter site we worked at that had many rock art paintings and burials



We used a PRXF machine to non-invasively analyse the rock art pigment



Team member Jakob at the total station device used to survey and map the excavation sites

Jakob holding the reflector that is used in conjunction with the total station


Jack is a researcher from the United States who is now working at ANU on a GPS mapping survey project



Our team in front of a rock art site we found and documented



Photographing a large rock art complex we found high in the escarpment




On the last day of the trip, our lead researcher asked me to lead an expedition team to search for rock art images that he needed for his book -- specifically, art that depicted post-contact objects (guns, buffaloes, ships, etc.) Together with Hilton and Adelais (shown in photo), we found and documented about ten unrecorded sites.


On the search for rock art sites


Brad in the excavation pit under a rock shelter site


Where we camped for two weeks 


On the way back to Darwin from Arnhem Land we stopped at a croc park.  Timmy (holding the fish) is one of the professor's sons.

Celebrating the end of a successful research trip with a sunset dinner in Darwin