by Paul White
There about 250 stone
carvings that have been part of the local folklore of the area for nearly a
century with reports of people who sighted them as far back as the early
1900's. The site was secretly visited by families "in the know" in
the 1950's and fell back into local mythology for a couple of decades until it
was accidentally rediscovered by a man looking for his lost dog.
The carvings are in a
rock cleft, a large block of split sandstone on a cliff-face that has created a
small chasm or "chamber" of two flat stone walls facing each other
that widens out from two to four metres and is covered in by a huge flat rock
as a "roof" at the narrow end. The cleft is most cave-like and only
accessible by a small rock chute from above or below, well disguised from the
average bush-walker.
When you first come up
the rock chute and climb into the stone hallway you are immediately confronted
by a number of worn carvings that are obviously ancient Egyptian symbols. These
are certainly not your average Aboriginal animal carvings, but something
clearly alien in the Australian bush setting. At the end of the chamber,
protected by the remaining section of stone roof, is a remarkable third-life
sized carving of the ancient Egyptian god Anubis, the Judge of the Dead.
Egyptologist Ray
Johnson, who had translated extremely ancient texts for the Museum of
Antiquities in Cairo eventually was successful in documenting and translating
the two facing walls of Egyptian characters - which stemmed from the Third
Dynasty. They allegedly chronicle a tragic saga of ancient explorers
shipwrecked in a strange and hostile land, and the untimely death of their
royal leader, "Lord Djes-eb".
A group of three
cartouches (framed clusters of glyphs) record the name of "RA-JEDEF"
as reigning King of the Upper and Lower Nile, and son of 'Khufu' who, in turn,
is son of the King 'Sneferu'. This dates the expedition just after the reign of
King Khufu (Cheops) alleged builder of the Great Pyramid. Lord Djes-eb may have
actually been one of the sons of the Pharaoh Ra Djedef, who reigned after
Khufu. Egyptian Dynasties
The hieroglyphic text
was apparently written under the instruction of a ship's captain or similar,
with the corner glyph on the wall displaying the title of a high official or
chief priest. The scribe is speaking for his Highness, the Prince, from this
wretched place where we were carried by ship. The expedition's leader, is
described in the inscriptions as the King's son, 'Lord Djes-eb', who came to
grief a long way from home. The hieroglyphics sketch his journey and his tragic
demise. Burial rituals, prayers and preparations are described.
For two seasons he made
my way westward, weary, but strong to the end.
Always praying, joyful,
and smiting insects.
He, the servant of God,
said God brought the insects.
Have gone around hills
and deserts, in wind and rain, with no lakes at hand.
He was killed while
carrying the Golden Falcon Standard up front in a foreign land, crossing
mountains, desert and water along the way.
He, who died before, is
here laid to rest.
May he have life
everlasting. He is never again to stand beside the waters of the Sacred Mer.
Mer meaning 'love'.
There was a moat around
the pyramid called the "waters of Mer".
The second facing wall,
which was much more seriously eroded, details the tragedy further.
This wall begins with
the badly eroded glyph of a snake (Heft), with a glyph of jaws (to bite) and
the symbol for 'twice'.
The snake bit twice.
Those followers of the
diving Lord 'Khufu', mighty one of Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Adzes, not all
shall return.
We must go forward and
not look back.
All the creek and river
beds are dry. Our boat is damaged and tied up with rope.
Death was caused by
snake.
We gave egg-yolk from
the medicine-chest and prayed to Amen, the Hidden One, for he was struck twice.
We walled in the side
entrance to the chamber with stones from all around.
We aligned the chamber
with the Western Heavens.
The three doors of
eternity were connected to the rear end of the royal tomb and sealed in.
We placed beside it a
vessel, the holy offering, should he awaken from the tomb.
Separated from home is
the Royal body and all others.
Here is inscribed the
extraordinary story of the death and burial of 'Lord Djes-eb' one of the sons
of the Pharaoh Ra Djedef.
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