In 2001, the opera Batavia premiered in Melbourne. Based on an episode of shipwreck and tragedy off the coast of Western Australia in 1629, the mythical structure of the story was enhanced by its contextual richness. Personal journals, historical accounts, and the discovery of artefacts, structures, and skeletal remains in marine and terrestrial sites kindled a strong physical and emotional attachment in the community with those who had shared their landscape, compelling some to seek recognition and protection for what they considered to be part of their heritage. Archaeologists recognize that the sympathetic symbolic dimension evoked by material culture, sites, and landscapes can be significant in the development of meaning and identity. This meaning is easily and readily articulated through artistic expression due to the fundamental association between our cultural worlds and the language of symbolism. In this paper, I discuss how the symbolism inherent in artifacts and landscape inspires the creation of profound artistic statements that deepen an understanding of self and attachment to place.