Monitoring and Maintenance of Open-Air Rock Art Sites

Abstract

Research into rock art conservation and management strategies has been undertaken for a comparatively short period of time in Australia: a mere 40–50 years. However, there has been a strong focus on strategies and interventions relevant for open-air rock art sites developed working alongside Indigenous Traditional Owner groups. Although many of these techniques were scientifically advanced and new for the discipline when developed, their application and overall successful longevity is yet to be fully reviewed, evaluated and thus understood. Indigenous people were often on-site during interventionist rock art conservation, but explanations of these scientific applications were not always understood. A number of key projects with a different, more cooperative approach were undertaken in recent years in northern Australia – on the Naminidjbuk Estate in Arnhem Land; within the World Heritage Listed Kakadu National Park; and in the remote west Kimberley region on the Country of Nyikina Mangala and Ngarinyin people. The combined presentation of these case studies highlights current practices in Australia relating to the conservation and management of rock art sites from a perspective of long-term monitoring and regular maintenance rather than invasive intervention. Whilst from one viewpoint these may appear very different, comparisons and similarities are illustrated to showcase a holistic method for the ongoing protection and preservation of open-air sites across Australia.