Fellowship to unearth rock art
Dr Ian Moffat will undertake a project with Njanjma Rangers to uncover hidden rock art in West Arnhem.
A SPECIALIST in applying earth science techniques to archaeology has been awarded this year’s George Chaloupka Fellowship.
Dr Ian Moffat is a PhD graduate from Australian National University, and currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the prestigious Laboratory of Geophysical-Remote Sensing and Archaeoenvironment within the Institute for Mediterranean Studies.
Dr Moffat received the Fellowship to support his research project to locate, record and date rock art hidden under mineral ‘skins’.
Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) Chief Adviser Agreements Alan Tietzel announced the Fellowship at a function at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory Foundation (MAGNT) on Thursday 13 November.
MAGNT Foundation President, Emeritus Professor Helen Garnett, said she was excited by the project. “The geophysical mapping of rock art is cutting edge research, which could well result in a whole new methodology, relevant to rock art sites not only in the Northern Territory but around the world,” Prof.Garnett said.
Dr Moffat’s project, entitled ‘Seeing Beneath the Surface: Applying Geophysical Techniques to Rock Art Research’, will use photogrammetry to locate, record and help date rock art hidden beneath silica and carbonate skins. The skins, also known as ‘rock varnish’, are a natural accumulation of dust and salts common to northern Australia.
The project will be undertaken in collaboration with the Djabulukgu Association and the Njanjma Rangers in the Ulbu-Bunji/Erre region of the East Alligator River area. It aims to provide training for the traditional owners in the techniques used during the fieldwork.
In addition to imaging through the skins, Dr Moffat will employ photogrammetry from cameras mounted on the ground, on a kite, and on an unmanned aerial vehicle to record the rock art sites and their surrounding areas in 3D.
Subject to appropriate permissions from traditional owners, the data will be accessible through a web interface to provide an interactive representation of each rock art site.
MAGNT Director Pierre Arpin congratulated Dr Moffat, saying his research would potentially make visualisation of shelters available to visitors at MAGNT in Darwin, as well as in other institutions, facilitating a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture.
This is the fifth year ERA has sponsored the $28,000 Fellowship as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to enhancing cultural opportunities in the Alligator Rivers region, which surrounds ERA’s operations at the Ranger mine.