Rare Archeological Find Sparks Inter-Tribal Dispute

Huggar (Pator III) – Controversy has erupted after the Galar-Yu Circle, an archaeology group associated with the Vherokior Tribe, successfully unearthed a rare cache of ndokassi hidden beneath the fields of a farmstead in the rural outskirts of Hukerenui township and transferred them to an off-planet research facility.

Ndokassi are advanced storage containers, typically measuring a third of a meter on each side, that are known to have been in use across the Minmatar Empire, well before the Amarr invasion known as "The Day of Darkness". According to Krusual tribal records, ndokassi were capable of preserving biological matter for hundreds of years. The technology was lost at some point during the period covering the contact, invasion and occupation by the Amarr Empire. Several well-known examples exist in tribal collections but almost all are damaged and non-functional.

Lead archaeologist Gesila Fraemar confirmed that her circle had earlier recovered a data manifest listing the location of the cache and contents of the ndokassi from a related site, but noted it had been heavily corrupted, most likely due to electromagnetic damage inflicted during an Amarr attack. Exceptionally, the cache itself contained several intact and sealed ndokassi, although others appear to have been damaged and broken open by farming-related disturbances of the burial site. Speaking for the Galar-Yu, Fraemar shared their plans to open certain of the intact containers under controlled conditions.

The news has been met with considerable controversy in the Republic's influential and highly diverse archaeology community. Sukandi Bjokur, famed discoverer of the Kul-Brutor wind-traps on the Great Central Plain of Kulheim, condemned the Galar-Yu Circle's plans and called the conduct of the excavation disrespectful. "Before the invasion, those lands belonged to the Brutor tribe. The Great Clan of Kul-Brutor may no longer be with us but we are their kin right enough. Those artifacts are a legacy for all Brutor, and they belong to us. The Galar-Yu did not even consult us before digging there and they should return these precious relics."

Sukandi belongs to the Brutor Tribe's Ihumanoana Circle, which has a longstanding rivalry with their Vherokior counterparts. Conflicts between the two circles have often centered on cultural land rights due to the tension between the traditionally sedentary Brutor and nomadic Vherokior tribes. No comment on Sukandi's allegations has been made by the Galar-Yu Circle.