Field Archaeology
A window into a world beyond digging holes in the ground
Thursday 17 November - Friday 16 December
Opening: November 17 @ 5pm
Oorala Aboriginal Centre UNE
An exhibition of images showing the landscape of the Grinding Grooves project and the mood experienced throughout. Moments – such as the sun rising through the morning fog, the moonscape moment of drought or capturing a moment of work beyond just digging.
Field work is carried out in all kinds of weather and environments from early morning to late evening. When we look up from the dig under our hands there are pictures of misty mornings and rolling landscape surrounds. But the holes in the ground and the team are socially important too. Photography can be a technical record but is a personal one too.
The Grinding Grooves project was initiated by local Aboriginal community members who were surveying a solar farm development east of Uralla. A large set (over 250) of axe grinding grooves was recorded and the community wanted to find out the age of the site, so they approached UNE Archaeologists Wendy Beck and John Appleton. Funding was secured and the dig commenced in late 2019. It finished just as COVID 19 was declared. The grinding grooves were found to be over 2,000 years old.
