The use of ground penetrating radar to help solve crimes is well known, but recently it's played a major role in helping Australian South Sea Islander communities find the missing bodies of long-lost ancestors.
Communities are turning to ground penetrating radar to help locate the long-lost bodies of their ancestors.
Death rates were extremely high during this period between 1852 and 1904, as many workers succumbed to illness.This has left many Australian South Sea Islander communities in a state of limbo for generations, wondering where the missing remains of their relatives are.Archaeologist Dr Emma St Pierre says she feels grateful to be involved in projects of great meaning for many communities.
"It sends the radar waves from the antennas into the ground, which reflect off varied objects and features, including changes in the soils.""GPR is a reliable tool to cover a large area and if you're identifying something that has a high probability or potential for being a burial, then you might look at doing further tests.
In a recent project in the Tweed Valley region in New South Wales, she was asked to make sure any burial sites would not be impacted by a proposed road expansion. She expects the number of communities who will turn to ground penetrating radar to help find burial sites will continue to grow. A prominent historian is reviving questions about the final resting place of up to 1,000 Australian South Sea Islander workers.In a statement to the ABC, a Queensland Health spokesperson said: "We are committed to working with the ASSI community and the traditional owners to understand, respect and preserve cultural sites and artifacts as part of the Mackay Hospital expansion.
Heritage Land Burial Sites Unmarked Graves Assi South Sea Islanders Emma St Pierre Ground Penetrating Radar Gpr Mackay Base Hospital Tweed Valley
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