Radar rays will build up a three dimensional picture of what lies beneath the surface of a mystery plot at Kangaroo Flat Cemetery, which may free up the land for future interment.
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Remembrance Parks Central Victoria turned to radar to solve the mystery of a seemingly empty plot of land.
It appeared disused, but there was no way of being sure.
As plots in the cemetery ran out, RPCV decided to find out whether the land could be used for more burials.
Chief executive Dean McElroy said the investigation aimed to give community members the most choice about where to be buried.
“If we can even utilise 10 percent, potentially we’ll get 100 burials,” Mr McElroy said.
Environmental and arboricultural consultants ENSPEC took measurements on Tuesday, using a ground penetrating radar to find micro-organisms living underground.
Radar beams were shot through the soil. If micro-organisms lived in high quantities underground they prevented the beams from penetrating to a greater depth.
This data is used to indicate where human remains may lay.
The data from the radar measurements will be run through a computer program to create a series of cross sections of the soil.
Put together, these will create a three dimensional heat map showing where the most micro-organisms live.
ENSPEC managing director Craig Hallam’s true love is saving trees, but searching for burials is an interesting sideline.
He began when investigating tree roots for a Gippsland council.
The council knew the young son of some of the area’s early European settlers had been buried on a farmer’s land, but didn’t know where.
When the boy died his parents had no idea how to bury their son, so the Indigenous people performed a traditional ceremony.
The farmer was happy to fence off the site, he just didn’t know where it was.
So Mr Hallam got out his radar and found the burial place.
“This sort of work’s very different, it’s part of our history that we’re validating,” Mr Hallam said.
“It’s pretty exciting, especially when you find something.”
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