Pottery stolen nearly 100 years ago from Panaeati Island has been returned to the local community after an archaeologist found a box containing it in an ANU storeroom.
Nearly 100 years ago, pottery was taken from a cave on Panaeati Island, in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea . Now, it's been returned to the local community after an archaeologist happened to stumble across a box in a storeroom in an 'uncannily lucky' stroke of luck.
Dr Ben Shaw, senior lecturer at the Australian National University (ANU), was visiting the island and spoke to the custodian and landowner who 'was lamenting the fact that some of the pots had been taken at some point in the past'. The conversation reminded Dr Shaw of something he had read about the pottery, and with an idea of where they may be, the community was keen to get them back to the island. His first port of call was to contact the South Australian Museum. Reverend Harry Bartlett, who had initially taken the pottery during a Methodist mission, had given the pottery to Norman Tindale, an anthropologist working at the museum. But before he could even reach out, he was in an ANU storeroom when he saw a box labelled 'Panaeati'. 'I thought, 'Jeez, what could this be', and pulled it down, I kind of recognised some of the pieces of pots, and the labels on them, and that happened to be what was in the box,' he said. Having worked on a Panaeati archaeology project previously and having already had conversations about trying to find the stolen pottery, Dr Shaw said the entire scenario was 'incredibly bizarre'.For Lincoln Wesley, who lives on Panaeati, an island known for sailors, canoes, traders, and fishing, the discovery was one he was 'very thankful and grateful' for.The pottery dates from about 750 years ago. 'The community is very, very, happy about the lost and forgotten pottery from our great, great descendants and taken out from our caves,' Mr Wesley said. 'It was presented at the primary school with the teachers and the children of the future generation of this island, and it is a very big day we had, and it will be a day to remember
Archaeology Pottery Papua New Guinea Return History
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