Underwater: Australia's oil industry faces new indigenous heritage test

An aerial photo of Dampier Archipelago in Western Australia during a survey from Deep History of Sea Country in this September 23, 2019 photo. DHSC Project & Flinders University Maritime Archaeology Program via REUTERS

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A discovery of ancient artefacts on the seabed off Australia's west coast has opened up a new frontier for resource companies to watch out for in conserving indigenous heritage.

Archaeologists in July reported they had found hundreds of stone tools submerged off the Dampier Archipelago in Western Australia, showing evidence of people living in the area when it was dry land more than 7,000 years ago.