Archaeologists say they expect to gain valuable information from the oldest cemetery found in the Pacific islands.
A team from the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra says 13 headless skeletons of the Lapita people have been unearthed in the 3000-year-old cemetery in Vanuatu.
Traces of the Lapita, considered the ancestors of all Pacific Islanders beyond the Solomons, have been found in more than 100 other archaeological digs across the region.
ANU archaeologist Matthew Spriggs says finding remains of Lapita people is so rare that, until the recent Vanuatu discovery, many archaeologists believed they must have buried their dead at sea.
Mr Spriggs says work at the site is being coordinated with the Vanuatu National Museum.
Archaeologist to conduct scar tree audit
Cowra Shire Council will engage an archaeologist to undertake a scar tree audit at Valley View Estate.
The resume of a qualified archaeologist referred to Council by a committee set up by estate protesters is currently being considered as a possible contender for the responsibility.
The archaeologist is from Canberra.
Cowra Shire Council General manager James Roncon said that once a decision had been made the audit would be quickly completed.
Um, shouldn't y'all be hiring an arborist instead?
Lost city. . .well, not 'lost' exactly, but. . .well, never mind Sanish Reappears
Low lake levels at Lake Sakakawa have revealed settlements that the U-S Army Corps of Engineers flooded by the Garrison Dam in the 1950s.
The rubble of Sanish, northeast New Town, has reappeared. So have some once-flooded parts of Van Hook to the west.
Corps Archaeologist Steve Gilbert says the sites are protected by the federal Archaeological Resources Act.
He say it's fine to visit the sites -- but it's illegal to take anything from them.
This is a common phenomenon and one good thing to come out of droughts. When lake levels drop they can uncover archaeological sites from times when the lake was similarly low.