THE lost grave site of Albany’s historically significant Indigenous man Mokare, has been at the centre of a study using a non-invasive geological technique used in building and construction projects.
Conventional archaeological methods using ground penetrating radar (GPR) aim to locate the grave; however certainty of finding a grave is often low due to disturbances in stratigraphy, lack of skeletal remains, or human, animal and plant interference.
GPR is a geological mapping device that uses radar pulses to map the subsurface soil profile. Researchers determined the area was clear of any graves, though establishing a clear-greave result, which is much easier than finding a grave.
The Flinders University study was able to rule out the site that Albany Heritage and Aboriginal Corporation believed was Mokare’s grave.
Adjunct lecturer at Flinders University, Ian Moffat says the mapping of the subsurface at the site, now a car park, revealed layers of modern fill.
“We were able to show that a new area of land had actually been in place and had been cut,” Mr Moffat says.
He says reading showed extensive earth work had been undertaken on the site, most likely during the car park construction in 1970 and that no burials emplaced before this time could be present nor were any revealed below the fill.
Researchers, however, did not rule out that Mokare’s grave may have been there before building the car park.
The survey mapped an area of 10m by 6m and a depth of 0.82m which was chosen based on historical documentation.
Findings reflect the view that not detecting graves is more conclusive than finding one— detection of anthropogenic fill can show an area is clear of burials.
Project member Paul Bladon says the applications for such an approach to unmarked grave detection are huge.
“Given that geophysics in terms of shallow subsurface investigations is not invasive, and non destructive, it’s a culturally appropriate approach in many instances,” Mr Bladon says.
Mr Moffat says many local cemeteries don’t have marked graves and many want to know where they can bury new bodies, or are unsure of the boundaries.
“I think [GPR] is really important for local communities to have access to and without having to inadvertently disturb a grave site in the while digging new graves.”
High conductivity of much of Australia’s soil has also made grave detection using geophysical techniques difficult, consequently Mr Moffat’s research is focused on testing geophysical techniques in a variety of geological environments around Australia and developing methods to ensure success.
