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Dr
Peter Dowling
What
is your current position?
I am the Heritage Officer for the ACT National Trust
Where
did you study archaeology?
ANU, ending up with a BA(Hons), MA & PhD in archaeology and biological anthropology.
How
did you become interested in archaeology?
I came to archaeology and biological anthropology as a second career move after 20 years service in the Royal Australian Navy. It would seem at first a great leap in careers which had little or no relation to each other. But that was not quite the case. I spent most of my time in the RAN in intelligence branches and found the move to archaeology very easy. It was very much the same use of the skills acquired in gathering information (data) in a systematic methodology, knowing its origins, analysing then assessing the data against a wider body of knowledge and then making evaluations and proposing scenarios (some of which were correct, others required a bit more remodelling).
What
archaeological projects are you working on at the moment?
My job is primarily in Heritage Management. That’s the job which seeks to protect archaeological/historical/cultural/natural sites (in many cases after the archaeologist have excavated and moved on) for future generations. So, I have many places to consider, but one that I am working on know is the Ginninderra Blacksmith Workshop (c.1860) which will require archaeological surveying and later (hopefully) excavation – but most of all I am concerned about its future conservation, use and interpretation.
Tell
us about one of your most interesting archaeological discoveries.
My most interesting ‘discoveries’ are mainly human burials found very early in my new career in the Willandra Lakes area and later as a professional in a dedicated burial ground (cemetery) on the Murray River in SA. For the latter I was able to acquire permission from the local Indigenous people to take eight individual samples for C 14 dating The result was a spread of dates from 4,700 to 350 BP – not bad for a first try as these dates sat well with the current understanding of dedicated cemeteries along the Murray River Valley.
Tell
us about a funny/disastrous/amazing experience that you have had
while doing archaeology.
One thing that immediately springs to mind is the awful cooking skills of other archaeologists I have worked with in remote areas. Burnt steaks and sausages are a thing that one can cope with but watered down baked beans on soggy toast was just over the top. One incident which has really outlived its relevance but is still brought up in conversation is launching the Department’s little tin boat I had brought all the way from Canberra to cross the Murray in SA. After loading it up with the necessary equipment and assistants we pushed off only to find very quickly that I had forgot to put the plug in the drain hole. With water pouring at an alarming rate we popped the cork on a bottle of very good Riverland red, poured out three glasses and used the cork to block the drain hole. We crossed the waters safely.
What’s
your favourite part of being an archaeologist?
After realising that I was not really enjoying professional life as a consultant archaeologist I took up my present position. While I rarely now participate in an excavation (bad back) I do enjoy reading and commenting on archaeological reports in Environmental Impact Statements (which is part of my job). I am finding that my role is now advising Territory and Commonwealth Government bodies on the importance of archaeological sites, both historic and Indigenous and advocating for their protection and conservation. While this role can be very frustrating at times when governments choose not to listen, it has in many circumstances been rewarding when I see that we have made a positive impact in a government’s decision to protect a place of significance.
I have also organised and led archaeological and historic group tours to Turkey (Western Turkey & Gallipoli), Egypt, Greece and Scandinavia. This is one of my favourite things about being an archaeologist as I can get to visit some of the most fascinating archaeological sites in Europe. One of my greatest thrills was to give a lecture on the work (or perhaps destruction) of Heinrich Schliemann on site at Troy. Then next year pay a visit to his house in Athens. Other high points were to see Tolund Man in Denmark; see the Oseberg Ship, the skeletons which had been removed from the ship and the mound where the ship was buried; and to read Victoria Cross citations to my travel group at the graves of Australian soldiers who died and are buried at El Alamein.
Follow
up reading:
Dowling, P. J. 1997 “A Great Deal of Sickness”, Introduced Diseases Among the Aboriginal People of Colonial Southeast Australia 1788-1900, PhD Thesis, ANU, Canberra. (Available at ANU, NLA, AIATSIS, State Library of SA)
Dowling, P. 2006 ‘Mercury Poisoning at Oyster Cove? Suspected cases of unintentional poising of Tasmanian Aboriginal Internees’, Tasmanian Historical Studies Vol II, 2006:59-68.
Plus:
Several articles for Heritage in Trust, the ACT National Trust magazine.
http://www.nationaltrustact.org.au/?pageid=35
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