Gosford Glyphs
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 Egyptian-style petroglyphs | |
 Interactive map of Gosford Glyphs | |
| Location | Kariong, Central Coast |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°27′07″S 151°18′11″E / 33.451833°S 151.303001°E |
The Gosford Glyphs, also known as Kariong Hieroglyphs, are a group of approximately 300 Egyptian-style hieroglyphs located in Kariong, Australia. They are found in an area known for its Aboriginal petroglyphs, between Gosford and Woy Woy, New South Wales, within the Brisbane Water National Park.
The glyphs have been dismissed as a hoax by authorities and academics after their discovery in the 1970s, but there are still attempts to prove the false belief that they were carved by the ancient Egyptians about 4,500 years ago.[1]
While rumours of Egyptian glyphs have existed since the 1920s, a spokesperson for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has said "The engravings are something we became aware of in the early 1980s, which is around the time the majority were thought to have been made."[2]
In late 2023 the NPWS began dislodging boulders it deemed unsafe near the glyphs. These works were criticized by residents and a local environmental protection organization as unnecessary and extreme.[3]
They depict boats, chickens, dogs, owls, stick men, a dog's bone as well as two cartouches that appear to be the names of kings, one of them Khufu (second king of the Fourth Dynasty, 2637–2614 BC), the other uncertain. These names are given the same personal name and throne name. There is also a carving of the ancient Egyptian god Anubis.[4]
Discovery
The carvings were first formally reported in 1975 by Alan Dash, a local surveyor working for Gosford Council who had been visiting the area for seven years without seeing the glyphs. Dash continued to visit for five years and saw new glyphs whenever he visited.[5] Up until their discovery, the site of the glyphs was engulfed with sand and rocks, and had overgrown vegetation. In 1983, David Lambert, then a rock art conservator for the NPWS, found some clean-cut hieroglyphs which he estimated to be less than twelve months old.[4] From the mid 1990s, the site started to receive more public attention.
Since then, the hieroglyphs have been claimed by pseudohistorians to be authentic script created about 4,500 years ago, by Egyptians who sailed to Australia and engraved their story into the stones after becoming shipwrecked.[6]
