Roonka Flat

Roonka Flat is a Stone Age burial site and dwelling site in the mid Murray region near present-day Blanchetown, South Australia in Ngarrindjeri country.

Per Oxford, the site is a "multi‐phase Aboriginal open‐air occupation site and burial ground on an elevated terrace of the Murray River in South Australia."[1]

Earliest use of the site dates to about 16000 BC. There is significant evidence of occupation and two burials from this time. Other evidence shows newer use of the area as a burial ground from 7000BC to 5000BC. From 2000BC until European settlement in the 19th century it was again settled.

Twelve tombs are dated to between 7000 and 4000 years before present. The bodies are placed vertically in a well, with pendants of pierced shells and bones. The bones of some skeletons appear to have been rearranged. A body was found with a stone dagger 29 cm long, presumably used to open the rib cage. 70 other burials date from after 4000 BC and reveal changes in funeral rites. The bodies of adult males are in an extended or contracted position. The tombs contain offerings, bone awls, hairpins and stone objects. Some individuals were buried in elaborate costume, with jewelry and accompanied by a child.