Ancient spirits lifted - Rock Art in Sydney
Submitted by coldrum on Monday, 17 November 2008 Page Views: 1647
Rock ArtFOUR ancient Aboriginal rock engravings have been uncovered at an archaeological dig on the Sydney Harbour foreshore.The carvings - an image of a man, two "spirit men" with rays emanating from their heads, and what appears to be a school of fish - were found just off Balls Head Road next to an engraving of a whale with a man inside its belly that has long enthralled visitors.
They are part of an Aboriginal site that had been partly covered over by a roadway at Waverton more than 80 years ago to service a coal-loading dock near HMAS Waterhen, covering the four engravings and part of the whale's tail.
But the archaeological dig, conducted as part of work to convert the site to public use as a community native plant nursery, revealed the mystery engravings again.
The newly restored engraving of the whale with the man inside is reminiscent of the biblical story of Jonah, but the carvings are estimated to be about 1000 years old, long before Europeans arrived in Sydney.
The whale is six metres long and its outline is clear. The faint outline of the man inside the whale has eroded with time. The whale has another animal carving in its belly near the tail, which appears to be a dog or a horse.
If it is a horse then it means the local Cammeraygal people were still carving at the site after the arrival of white settlers 220 years ago.
The Cammeraygal were described as spiritual people who conducted frequent ceremonies at carving sites scattered around the North Shore.
More rock carvings are expected to be uncovered as archaeologists and volunteers remove bitumen and dirt from the sites. But Aboriginal Heritage Office Northern Region manager David Watts said the meaning of the carvings would probably remain a mystery.
For more, see the Sydney Morning Herald.
Note: Images of men, fish, and whales near docked historic Australian Navy Destroyer.
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