Terminology:
Archeology is “the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artefacts and other physical remains”.
Future archeology is the contemporary laying down of discarded artefacts and waste/rubbish, in particular indestructible plastics. These detritus of human existence, our society, will remain as buried traces, forming strata in the environment and perhaps become the objects of study in the deep future.
Comment
The bio-humo-eco-sphere is intricately interconnected. Nothing exists outside myriad connections on multiple levels.
In this sub-project two main projects intersect: Mapping Summerfield and Future Archeology.
LOCATION
The riparian zone (RZ) in Katherine’s Landing, Huntlee (North Rothbury) is a remnant of the ‘natural’ pre-existing habitat along an existing water course into the new development. The water course formerly flowed into a farm dam but the dam wall was bulldozed and the water released. It is hard to overlay how I remember the place with how it is now. The remaining stretch of RZ is the stretch of the water course upstream from the no longer existing dam to my fence line.
The RZ is still dense with plants. These plants act as a net, catching all the rubbish, mainly plastic, which blows off the house building sites; building product packaging, food packaging, and recently chunks of polystyrene foam. The rubbish catches in amongst the plants and comes to rest.
There has been a particular concentration in the corner where the RZ and my block meet and form a corner. The new road, Abberton Parkway, also turns the corner. Over the flat, denuded expanse of the development there is very little to stop the rubbish as the wind lifts and spins it over the ground.
Action: Collecting the peripatetic rubbish
Collecting the rubbish is a disruption of the future archeology. It disrupts because the rubbish which has been deposited along the RZ gives us a small view into the process of building Katherine’s Landing. The action attempts to retrieve the previously unpolluted landscape. The rubbish will leave the site and enter another cultural process of waste burial at another unknown site.
Previous collections:
The first collections were made during the process of the road building and block subdivision when storm water, domestic fresh, gery and waste water reticulation was laid down and also electricity lines for street lighting and grid supply to the blocks was installed.
Dates: July 2023, August 2023, September 2023 (no image)
Once these initial building processes were finished and there was a hiatus in activity, the rubbish blown-in stopped.
Recent collections:
The rate of building of the new houses has grown exponentially over the last three months with the first influx of rubbish in August 2024.
Due to the volume of rubbish and the size of the objects I left the collections on the side of the road to be picked up by Huntlee.
The biggest collection was carried out in September when I cleared the top half of the riparian zone.
Dates: 3 August 2024, 27–29 September 2024, 24 November 2024
I was concerned that when I returned after a two month absence the area would be full of rubbish again but it wasn’t. I had contacted Glenn Swan (Huntlee LWP project manager) and drawn his attention to the mess. Did he tell the builders to lift their game and not let the rubbish blow off-site? I consider this result to be a win!