A huge trove of Aboriginal artefacts, which could have been part of an armory, has been unearthed at an Australian building site, experts said yesterday.
Specialists hailed the discovery of the more than 20,000 objects which were found during the development of a multi- billion-dollar transport project in a Sydney suburb and called for excavation work to be stopped while the find is assessed.
“It is an incredibly significant site, not only for Sydney, but also nationally,” said Scott Franks of Tocomwall, one of four Aboriginal heritage firms advising the project.
He said the heritage consultants were hoping to date the site, but added that the concentration of artefacts in a small area of about 700m2 suggested it could have been a weapons storehouse for battling British colonists more than 200 years ago.
The haul includes stone spearheads and ceremonial objects.
“The material the artefacts have been made from is not from Sydney, it’s been brought here by means of trading and bartering,” Franks said. “Whatever has happened here has been significant enough for some of the groups to start working together.”
He said he believed the site was “one of the heaviest concentrated sites of artefacts this country has ever seen.”
Australian Aborigines are believed to be the custodians of the oldest continuous culture on Earth, with a history which stretches back more than 40,000 years.
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