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A digital survey for earth rings using airborne LiDAR on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, Victoria

J. Rachcoff,R. Kurpiel,Matthew Meredith-Williams,Ron Jones (Elder),Bobby Mullins (Elder),Allan Wandin (Elder),Caroline Spry

Published 2025 in Australian Archaeology

ABSTRACT

Abstract The protection of ceremonial sites and cultural landscapes is one important way for Aboriginal communities to maintain connection to Country. Moreover, the identification and conservation of these places and their broader cultural landscapes is critical in increasingly urbanised and developed environments. On Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country in Victoria, current knowledge about Aboriginal earth rings is centred on the archaeological evidence from five features located in Sunbury, northwest of Melbourne. This study investigates the potential for identifying similar earth rings elsewhere on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country by using laser light to measure distances and create accurate three-dimensional models of Earth’s surface—a technique known as light detection and ranging (LiDAR). In a first for Australian archaeology, a digital survey using high-resolution airborne LiDAR processed with the Visualization for Archaeological Topography (VAT) relief visualisation technique developed by Kokalj and Somrak (2019) identifies 28 potential earth ring features on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, including eight features considered highly likely to be of Aboriginal cultural origin. These potential earth rings share similar characteristics to previously recorded earth rings, including cleared centres and raised outer edges. The features are identified in various locations across Greater Melbourne. The successful use of VAT on airborne LiDAR on ephemeral earth features is promising for the broader research and cultural heritage management sectors and presents new opportunities to embed remote sensing into everyday archaeological practice. The broad distribution of these features highlights the imperative to consider earth rings, and all Aboriginal cultural heritage places, as components of a cultural landscape synonymous with the concept of Country. Heritage and planning laws must better respond to the pressures of urban development on Aboriginal cultural landscapes, and ensure they are recognised and protected.

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