The World’s Largest Archaeological Jigsaw Puzzle: Excavations at Juukan Gorge 2022–2023

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Juukan Gorge: The Story of Destruction, Excavation and Rebuilding" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Since 2022 a team of archaeologists in collaboration with the PKK People has been re-excavating the Juukan 2 site. Under the rubble of the blast, we have found an in situ cultural deposit with largely intact material culture. This paper describes the process and methodology we have used to find this delicate sedimentary context beneath the blast rubble. We have used a variety of models ranging from ERT to large scale geological applications to locate the floor of Juukan 2. Ultimately, however, the relocation and excavation has involved good old-fashioned archaeological method as over 200 m3 of backfill and rubble has been delicately removed to reveal a cave floor. Subsequent to its discovery we have embarked on one of the largest archaeological projects ever attempted in Australia, as we attempt to recover the cultural material of Juukan 2.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Juukan Gorge: The Story of Destruction, Excavation and Rebuilding   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39764.0