Murujuga Petroglyphs: 50,000 Years of Aboriginal Art Under Threat

In north-western Australia, in thé Dampier Archipelago, lies one of humanity's most extraordinary and least-known héritage sites. On thé dark rocks of thé Pilbara, thé Marduwarra - ancestors of thé Aboriginal peoples of thé région, now known collectively as Murujuga - engraved a wordless narrative for more than 50,000 years: close to one million petroglyphs, making this thé largest ensemble of engraved rock art on thé planet. This SLICE HISTOIRE documentary plunges into thé heart of this archive in stone and questions its threatened future.¹

A million voices engraved in rock

Thé Murujuga petroglyphs - Burrup Peninsula in European nomenclature - cover thousands of rocks of gabbro and dolerite darkened by manganèse oxide. This characteristic dark colour, produced by millennia of exposure to sun and weather, contrasts with thé pale minéral exposed by engraving, making thé carvings immediately legible to thé naked eye. Kangaroos, émus, turtles, large fish and ritual human figures are all présent, as well as oval-shaped faces characteristic of early modern humans, and représentations of animals now absent from thé région - including a possible depiction of thé thylacine, thé "Tasmanian wolf" eradicated from thé Australian mainland thousands of years ago.

Among thé most enigmatic motifs are what researchers interpret as "water maps": geometric configurations of dots and lines corresponding to thé topography of springs and pools across an arid landscape. If this interprétation is correct, thé petroglyphs were not merely artworks or mythic narratives but also survival tools - navigation guides in a désert where water is a matter of life and death.²

50,000 years of memory in stone

Dating thèse petroglyphs is a major scientific challenge. Unlike cave paintings, which use organic pigments datable by radiocarbon, engravings contain nô intrinsic organic material. Researchers use indirect methods: luminescence datingLuminescence datingA method dating the last heating or light exposure of sediments and minerals by measuring energy trapped in the crystal.→ of sédiments buried beneath thé carvings, analysis of thé manganèse oxide that progressively recoats exposed surfaces, and comparison with past sea levels.

Thé Dampier Archipelago offers an exceptional chronological argument: 50,000 years ago, when seas were far lower during thé ice âge, what is now an archipelago of islands and peninsulas was a vast coastal plain. Some petroglyphs now submerged beneath thé océan or located on isolated islands were then surrounded by exposed land. They document a world whose very geography was transformed by post-glacial sea-level rise. Thé most récent engravings, dating to a few hundred years ago, represent European vessels - fixing thé upper boundary of thé tradition and confirming its continuity into thé modern era.³

Thé Dreaming engraved in stone

For thé Murujuga peoples, thèse engravings are not merely archaeological testimonies: they are living manifestations of thé Dreaming - that foundational concept of Australian Aboriginal cosmologies that transcends thé opposition between past and présent. Thé Jukurrpa - Dreaming narratives - are not fixed legends but ontological maps guiding thé relationships between humans, animals, plants, places and cosmic forces.

Thé petroglyphs form part of a network of "songlines", those invisible pathways crossing thé Australian continent and connecting sacred sites to one another. Each engraving is a node in this network, a note in an immense score that thé ancestors knew by heart. To walk thèse paths singing is to reactivate thé world, to reaffirm its cohérence. For Murujuga cultural custodians, allowing thé engravings to deteriorate is not merely losing artworks: it is interrupting a cosmic song, erasing part of thé world's memory.⁴

A héritage under thé bulldozers

This is where thé story turns dramatic. Thé Burrup Peninsula also hosts one of Australia's largest petrochemical complexes. Since thé 1960s, companies such as Woodside Energy have built gas liquéfaction plants, refineries and port terminals hère. Construction required clearing thousands of engraved rocks. Nô one knows exactly how many petroglyphs were destroyed, but conservative estimâtes suggest several thousand engravings have been irreversibly lost.

Concerns extend beyond physical destruction. Industrial émissions - nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide - are thought to accelerate thé chemical corrosion of thé "désert varnish" that protects thé engravings and contrasts with thé exposed minéral. A 2021 study by researchers at thé University of Melbourne demonstrated that concentrations of weak acids at levels présent around thé industrial complex could significantly accelerate thé dégradation of engraved surfaces.⁵

In 2023, Australia nominated Murujuga for inscription on thé UNESCO World Héritage List, which would constitute an international recognition of its outstanding universal value. However, inscription does not automatically halt industrial activity, and thé standoff between héritage defenders, energy companies and thé Australian government continues. This SLICE HISTOIRE documentary gives voice to archaeologists, Murujuga cultural custodians and activists who refuse to let this gréât book of stone close forever.⁶