Some Further Details

WE remembered that Mr. A. J. Vegan, whose hobby is archaeological re search, was in the Trobriands about three years ago, and that he had reported the presence there of some mysterious stones.

Accordingly, we asked Mr. Vogan if he knew anything of nummulitic limestone in the Trobriands, and, without having seen the above report, this is what he wrote: After my archaeological examinations of the Trobriands in 1932, when H. E., Sir J. H. P. Murray, ran me up in his boat, I told Mr. Williams, the Papuan Government Anthropologist, about my finds, certain pictures of which have been published. That enterprising scientist, whose wonderful discoveries on the Fly and elsewhere have given him world re cognition, visited Kiriwina Island, the biggest of the group, in August, 1933.

Between Kwaibwaga and M’tawa there are two groups of more or less upright slabs of stones, which I consider to be of silicious-coral from the sea-bottom — which was laid down under fierce hydro thermal conditions. The former group is called Davalaosi; and was the supposed village of the weird “Petrified People,” of whom more, perhaps, some day. The latter group is called Ilukawaiwaia, after

the big stone that it contains. There is, according to the natives, another group of similar character close by.

Our coloured co-subjects of the King are of opinion that these great slabs, which are from four to fourteen feet in length, once formed the sides of build ings. But, as w r e know the stones were placed there about two thousand years ago, even the “oldest inhabitant” is no real authority! No ciselures have been observed upon the stones; and the holes that appear are characteristic of the local sea-bottom, especially as some contain shells, and the decay of less durable ob jects w r ould account for them.

Now. just as Disraeli’s remark that “every involuntary action is characteristic of the individual,” is very true, so, such evidence as these stones tells us something of their long-dead au thors. They show, at once, to experts, their Asian origin. From Tabriz (or Taurus) on the Caspian shores of Persia (where, presumably, the earliest Civilization started) down southwards, we get stone-erections of the same nature as that much publicised Stonehenge of Salisbury Plain (10,000 feet in circum ference) but varying greatly in size. They were erected, apparently, as a means of ascertaining, from month to month, the sun’s advance among the stars; and the approach of the equinoxes—those two points when the then “Sacred Orb of Fire” crosses the plane of the earth’s equator—when the days and nights are equal. This was the first great problem of the early astronomers who, like many professional folk of our day, add a bit of mumbo-jumbo to what science they per mit the commonalty to become aware of, for selfish and commercial reasons.

The upright stones cast shadows, like the gnomon of the common sun-dial, and these, of course, vary, indicating the sea

sons of planting and harvest, etc. They would warn the Islanders, also, regarding the probable approach of the N.W. and dangerous S.E. trade winds. I have found similar affairs on the northern coast of Papua, and elsewhere in the Pacific.

That these miniature Stonehenges were erected by the same folk as the “Petrified People’’ who made the wonderful burial pots (of which Mr. A. C. Lumley, of Kiri wina, has the finest specimen I have seen) seems to provide further evidence that my Yasawa and Duk-ni-ba (Fiji) inscriptions were made by Indus-basin immigrants many hundreds of years ago; for the said pottery seems to resemble closely that found in the buried cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro of the Indus mouth, which Dr. Ernest Mackay has written his book about—“ The Indus Civilisation.” Persia, the home of “Druidical” stones, early Civi lisation, and the first astronomy, is close at hand; and we know that a sea-borne traffic between the Indus-folk and those of Mesopotamia, and the Bay of Bengal, took place at least three thousand years ago.

Mr. A. Gibson, of the Papuan Govern ment Printing Office, returned to Port Moresby after furlough in Australia by the Macdhui in January. Mr. Gibson is an expert photographer and his studies of Papuan life and scenes, have won much praise.

Mr. Eric Feldt, who probably was the most popular District Officer ever on the Morobe goldfield, has been appointed Warden of the goldfield and already has entered upon his duties. The appointment gave pleasure to all classes. The position had been vacant since Mr. Harold Taylour resigned from the service to take charge of Enterprise of New Guinea, N.L.