Archaeologists to talk rock art harm at world congress

The Age

22-06-2025

Industrial threats to Aboriginal rock art and other ancient sites will be in focus when the World Archaeological Congress meets in Australia for the first time.
Hosted by Flinders and Charles Darwin Universities, the week-long conference will welcome thousands of delegates from more than 70 countries to Darwin from Sunday.
One of the stated aims of the congress is to advance global policy, 'especially as it relates to the protection of heritage'.
The event comes just weeks after the federal government gave Woodside's North West Shelf project – which hosts Australia's biggest gas export plant – the green light to keep operating until 2070.
The project on Western Australia's Burrup Peninsula is home to renowned ancient rock art at Murujuga, and the energy giant still has to accept conditions on heritage and air quality before the approval becomes official.
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Scientists are concerned emissions from the nearby gas plant are eroding rock surfaces and harming the famed petroglyphs at the site.
In May 2020, Rio Tinto's destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in the Pilbara left traditional custodians devastated and caused global outrage, prompting the mining giant to apologise.
Meanwhile, cultural heritage laws in WA and the Northern Territory have come under fire for not adequately protecting sacred and ancient sites.