There was once thought to be 400 hundred ancient circular mounds of earth across Australia – before many of them were destroyed by colonisation of Australia by Europeans
The boffin-stumping mystery of large circular mounds of earth in Australia has finally been solved by a first-of-its-kind study. Researchers say the ancient rings – some of which are hundreds of metres in diameter – were constructed by the local Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people in the Sunbury area for sacred ceremonies.
The scientists, who ruled out alien hands in the construction of the rings, said the mounds were first built between 590 and 1,400 years ago. As many as 400 of the earth rings are believed to have once existed in across Australia but, after many were destroyed during European colonisation, there are only 100 left.
The remaining ancient rings hold immense significance to different Aboriginal language groups reflecting on a history of occupation, colonisation, self-determination, adaptation, and resilience, researchers and elders of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung culture say.
For the Indigenous people, the concept of a country includes consideration of several elements including “land, water, sky, animals, plants, artefacts and cultural features, travel routes, traditions, ceremonies, beliefs, stories, historical events, contemporary associations and ancestors”.
Scientists say it is impossible to completely understand the context of the structures because so little is known about the culture, knowledge and perspective of those who built them. It is understood the structures were used for sacred ceremonies.
The boffins wrote: “While previous studies indicate these rings are sacred locations of ceremony, little is documented from cultural values and landscape perspectives – particularly in southeastern Australia.”
The mounds were constructed by the Aboriginal people carefully clearing land and plants before scraping back the soil and rock to create the ring mound. Finally, layers of rocks would be arranged on the perimeter.
The study in the Australian Archaeology journal found Indigenous people of the region lit campfires in the mounds and moved items around using stone tools.
The study added that the discovery adds to the understanding of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people’s culture.
It read: “The results bring together Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people’s understandings of the biik wurrda cultural landscape and archaeological evidence for cultural fire, knapping, movement, trampling, and tool-use by their Ancestors at the ring.
“While memory of the purpose of the Sunbury Rings has faded, a deep understanding of the cultural values of the landscape in which they are embedded has been passed down through successive generations of Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.