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Aborigines fear new road is a bridge too far for historic site

It was an extraordinary find: three million Aboriginal artefacts dating back more than 40,000 years, uncovered beneath a nondescript and overlooked grassy floodplain by a Tasmanian river.

Archaeologists believe the treasure trove, found at what was obviously an important meeting-place for local tribes, is the oldest evidence of human habitation in the southern hemisphere.