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33. At the Area C project in Australia, an agreement with the traditional owners has enabled unique archaeological sites to be excavated and relocated
Native Title agreements that allowed development of the rich Area C iron ore deposits in the central Pilbara, Western Australia, were finalised in June 2001. As part of the agreements, the Company negotiated with the site's traditional owners to excavate and relocate a number of stone arrangements of great archaeological significance. They have now been moved to a safe location where they can remain undisturbed by future mining operations.
In 1982, surveyors came across the stone arrangements, which consisted of banded ironstone and chert stones buried upright in the ground. After consulting with the Aboriginal custodians, a decision was made to leave the arrangements untouched and to record the find with the then Western Australian Museum's register of heritage sites.
On taking over the site in 1990, BHP Billiton Iron Ore also took on responsibility for recording and protecting the stone arrangements. A survey, undertaken by archaeologists engaged to map the extent of the sites, showed there were well over 1000 stones in different-sized groups, ranging from just a few to several hundred. It was clear they had been deliberately placed and that some had been transported considerable distances to the site.
Applying a formal process appropriate to any activity related to indigenous archaeological sites, the Company consulted with the Aboriginal custodians regarding the proposal to conduct mining in the vicinity of the stone arrangements. Many of the local Aboriginal elders knew of the stone arrangements and, while uncertain of their origin, confirmed their significance in Aboriginal lore.
The Company began liaising with the traditional owners and archaeologists with expertise in Aboriginal heritage to plan for protection of the stone arrangements. One solution discussed was to place a buffer fence around the archaeological sites; but there was concern that, over time, mining activity could impact indirectly on the stones and damage their integrity. A request was presented to the Aboriginal custodians for the stone arrangements to be moved. After a period of deliberation, the custodians agreed that they could be relocated without destroying their cultural significance.
An agreement was reached that the custodians, the Company and archaeologists be involved in a joint project to relocate the stone arrangements to a safe area where they could be preserved, and this was enshrined as part of the Native Title agreements. In 1998, all parties formally signed the agreement to move the stone arrangements. An application was made to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and approval was granted in 2000.
In 2002, the Company consulted with the custodians to find an appropriate location where the stones could be safely repositioned. A site with similar geographic features seven kilometres from the main stone arrangement was selected. A team of surveyors used global positioning technology to document the position of every stone. The information was then transferred to a grid map, and pegs were placed at the new site to ensure the stones would be relocated in exact matching positions.
Archaeologists photographed every stone with north points marked so they could be positioned with the correct orientation. Working with the archaeologists, teams from the two Aboriginal groups then used trowels and other digging equipment to carefully remove the soil from around the stones. Samples of sediment were taken from beneath a number of the stones so that tests could be undertaken to determine an age for the construction of the arrangements. Once excavated, the stones were wrapped in plastic, numbered and made ready for reburial at exactly the same depth and orientation.
The stone arrangements are now all in place at the new site. Studies are under way to date samples of the sediment taken from the stone arrangements, using optically stimulated luminescence dating techniques. Preliminary results suggest the arrangements could have been constructed and maintained from approximately 3000 years ago.
