- Written By Kerri-Ann Meakins
At the beginning of the first semester this year, I was lucky enough to work with the Macquarie University History Museum as a part of my PACE internship within my degree. My project involved researching and documenting the so-called “Gosford Glyphs”, a series of mysterious petroglyphs, thought by some to be Egyptian hieroglyphs, carved into the rocks in the Brisbane Waters National Park between Gosford and Woy Woy. I had visited the Gosford Glyphs on a prior occasion, having jumped at the chance to see some kind of link between Egypt and Australia. Even though they were clearly inauthentic, I was excited to delve into some further research and find out for myself why exactly this is the case.
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| The "Gosford Glyphs", Brisbane Waters National Park Image Credit: Zroota, Wikimedia Commons |
In addition to obvious shortcomings in the design and authenticity of individual petroglyphs, observations also need to include cultural and historical aspects of what is presented at the site. The occurrence of serekhs (square encasements surrounding the names of kings and deities during the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt’s history) belonging to two Old Kingdom kings – Snefru and Khufu – suggest that, if the petroglyphs were, in fact, truly Egyptian, the site would date to around 2450BCE, or perhaps slightly earlier. However, by the reigns of these two kings the serekh was almost entirely out of use. It was replaced by the cartouche, an oval-like rendition of the serekh representing a palace façade - elements of which can be seen in conjunction with the serekhs at Gosford. In my research, I have found no examples of this strange medley being used to represent a royal agenda. If the signs were authentic, the encasement surrounding the name of the king would be one, or the other. It certainly would not be both, and it would likely be a cartouche. If it didn’t occur in Egypt (that we know of to date), then the chances of it occurring in Australia are rather slim.
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| Sketches of the Gosford Glyphs by Kerri-Ann Meakins, displayed on exhibition at the Macquarie University History Museum Image Credit: Jesse Taylor |
An alternate hypothesis put forward by the local community surrounding Gosford is that the glyphs were the work of someone who drew inspiration from Egypt – possibly a soldier who was stationed there during wartime. However, through an analysis of individual signs, it is possible to provide a relative date for when the petroglyphs first appeared. In this video, I examine the appearance of particular signs in hieroglyphic dictionaries published around the world and their possible availabilities to Australians of the 20th century. From this, the relative date can be estimated.
It has truly been a wonderful experience to work with the MUHM for the Mysteries Revisited exhibition, where my tracings of the glyphs appear on display. Even though the signs at Gosford are most certainly of modern origin, it is always exciting to investigate the possibility of a link between Egypt and Australia.
About the Author
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Kerri-Ann Meakins is currently completing the third year of her Bachelor of Archaeology. Once this is completed, she hopes to gain her master's degree and eventually a doctorate in the field of Egyptology. Although her interest primarily lies in the New Kingdom, she hopes to continue learning and studying as much as possible so that she will eventually be able to collaborate with various scholars in Egyptian history around the world.