Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation (WGAC), The University of Western Australia's CRAR+M and Rio Tinto are working together to develop a rock art research project in the Eastern Guruma native title lands.
After several meetings with the Board to scope this, we undertook our first fieldtrip in October 2019. We visited a number of sites around Tom Price and the Hamersley Ranges.
The main goal was to assess:
1) the nature and condition of the sites;
2) the accuracy of the existing geospatial information; and,
3) the scale of recording work which would be required for a comprehensive recording programme.
We visited both engraving sites complexes and pigment art sites and undertook some preliminary recording at both. We also did some 3D photogrammetry at a number of sites.
We also used D-Stretch to improve the visibility of a number of the pigment panels, and also used the Dinolite to focus on superimposition.
Generally, we found that most site locations had more rock art present than had been previously recorded. We also found that many site location details needed updating. Graffiti was an issue at a number of sites (some of this was historic).