Visitors Now: | |
Total Visits: | |
Total Stories: |
Story Views | |
Now: | |
Last Hour: | |
Last 24 Hours: | |
Total: |
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
A little over a month ago, Original Custodian Nigel contacted me with tales of exotic archaeology and ancient civilisations. And he was not alone; in recent times, claims such as these have become close to a daily event. So great is the volume of evidence and assurance of authenticity my team now receives, I have to admit that we have become as discriminating as we have blasé whenever we are approached with news of ancient or extra-terrestrial archaeology.
It wasn’t so much the credentials of the archaeology Nigel believes is flavoured by a “Celtic-Phoenician with Egyptian/Libyan influence” that stirred our curiosity, but more the provisos and hints of more to come, if we met with his approval and earned his trust. His talk of the “Valley of the Faces” along with the presence of Phoenician and Celtic engraved symbols was an interesting proposition of itself, but until now none of the invitations we have received have depended on us gaining the approval of the person contacting us before more could be revealed. So we approached this meeting with our intuition firmly on.
Our intuition was spot on. Nigel is very connected to Original culture and sensibilities. We are utterly convinced his interest in every site is genuine and respectful. Armed with the proper heritage – Nigel’s “mob is Barkindtji from my grandmother’s side” – and a “sense of adventure that hit me as a young fella and remains with me to this day,” we knew we could not be in more appropriate hands.
It took some time to reach the site, and undeniably the recent bush fires in the Blue Mountains had opened up the country and made it easier to move through. Even though our expectations were somewhat subdued, due to earlier unproductive excursions into the bush, we were first impressed by Nigel’s insistence that we first put our bare feet into a pool beneath a waterfall as a gesture of respect to the guardian spirits of this sacred place.
What was unclear was how this sacredness came about. Neither Nigel nor any of the Original Custodians were sure as to ‘how’ or ‘what’, just that this place was special.
Nigel showed us a variety of formations that did indeed resemble a human face. Some bore a striking profile, others were a little more blurred at the edges. But we have to be so careful in accepting anything that doesn’t have exceptionally strong credentials. Of the first five faces we were shown, one was really pushing the limits of natural agencies, the other four less so.
The same could be said for many grooves and potential engravings Nigel claimed to Phoenician or Celtic. But as with the faces, there were two examples worthy of much further consideration. The most striking example of what appeared to be chiseling with a metal blade, or a more sophisticated device, related to two close incisions that both stopped in ‘mid-rock.’ Geologically speaking, the defined finish of these incisions runs counter to the way rocks erode and split. But the absence of any hint of percussion marks on the edge, as would be expected if Original rock and stick technology was involved, suggests that it is not of Original origin.
Nigel chalked the line of an engraving he identified as Celtic, and of all the engravings he pointed out, this looked decidedly unnatural and in keeping with the early Celtic use of ‘tally-marks’ as letters. Nigel mounted a strong case that it was indeed a Celtic carving, but in my opinion it could still be a geological formation – albeit a very unusual one.
In combination, five rock-faces bearing what seem to be human-like features all within a 150 metre area, along with quite a few engravings of various types and patterns, all of this did present a very strong circumstantial case. We were certainly leaning over towards Nigel’s side of the fence. But we had no choice but to jump on over once we saw what Nigel saved for last: a face carved out of sandstone.
Previous articles by Steven Strong: