Bush fires reveal ancient Aboriginal village

The ancient remains of Aboriginal stone houses have been uncovered by a bush fire that burnt last month in the south-west of Victoria state.

The fires revealed a whole village of stone houses, each about 5 metres wide, together with eel traps, tracks and the remains of cutting tools.

The find is doubly significant because it confirms other evidence that many Aborigines lived in fixed villages along or near the coast, constructing dams and channels to catch fish, and were not all nomadic hunter-gatherers living in the interior of the continent.