Like something out of Stargate SG1, the Gosford glyphs lie hidden within a remote sandstone canyon in the deep Australian bush. Some dismiss them as a hoax, while others celebrate them as authentic.
A Voyage to the Ends of the Earth?
According to researchers, a portion of the Egyptian hieroglyphs in Australia describe a fleet of Egyptian ships caught in a severe storm while returning home. The vessel capsized, resulting in the deaths of most of the crew.
Survivors, led by a figure named Netjet Sobut—likely the captain—managed to reach shore.
These survivors recorded their harrowing experiences, expressed gratitude to their gods for surviving, and conducted burial rites for their fallen comrades.
Following Egyptian funerary traditions, they prayed for the protection of the burial site and invoked eternal life for the deceased.
The narrative in the ancient Egyptian carvings aligns with Egyptian religious customs and details events surrounding the shipwreck.
The story references “Penu-land,” interpreted as Australia, and mentions the local inhabitants as having “no deception” or being in good standing with Egypt. Could it be true?
Ancient Egyptian seafaring capabilities
The ancient Egyptians weren’t strangers to the seas. Their civilization, which flourished along the Nile, built impressive seafaring ships. These vessels weren’t just for rivers; they were substantial ships capable of long voyages.
The most famous of these is Pharaoh Khufu’s solar boat, which is nearly 43.6 meters long (143 feet) and is now displayed next to the Great Pyramid at Giza. This vessel, dating back to the 4th Dynasty, shows the Egyptians could construct large ocean-going ships.
To put Khufu’s ship in perspective, Columbus’s largest ship, the Santa Maria, was less than half the size at approximately 18 meters (59 feet) long and was used to travel to the American continent.
Historical records also describe Egyptian expeditions across the seas. Queen Hatshepsut’s voyage to Punt during the 15th century BC stands out.
Her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari shows a fleet of ships encountering sea creatures like swordfish and lobsters, indicating a journey through open waters.
These records highlight the Egyptians’ capabilities and willingness to explore beyond their immediate surroundings, raising the possibility they ventured further than traditionally believed.
The Gosford glyphs
The Gosford glyphs, also known as the Australian Egyptian inscriptions, are carved into a remote sandstone outcropping in New South Wales, Australia. The site, named after the nearby town of Gosford, contains roughly 300 symbols spread across the walls of a narrow canyon.
Most glyphs are on the upper walls, accessible only with scaffolding or ladders, suggesting a deliberate effort to place them in a protected and secluded environment.
Local communities in Australia have known about these alleged Egyptian hieroglyphs since the early 1900s, with documented reports dating back to the 1970s.
Despite this, the site stayed relatively obscure until recently, when it attracted researchers and conspiracy theorists.
The carvings vary in quality, leading to debates about their origin and purpose. Early interpretations dismissed the glyphs as a hoax, likely created by returning soldiers from World War I or local pranksters familiar with Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Translation efforts by Mohamed Ibrahim and Youssef Awyan
Egyptian researchers Mohamed Ibrahim and Youssef Awyan have worked on translating the glyphs in recent years. They documented their research in a three-part YouTube video, viewed over 20,000 times as of this article.
They approached the site without prior knowledge of the glyphs’ history to avoid biases. Their detailed translation revealed that the glyphs weren’t just random symbols. Instead, the glyphs formed a coherent text that told a specific, poignant story.
Ibrahim and Awyan’s translation dates the glyphs to no later than around the 6th or 5th century BC, during the Late Period of Ancient Egypt, specifically within the 26th Dynasty.
This period, also known as the Saite Period, saw Egypt’s revival in arts, culture, and military power.
This data challenges earlier claims that the glyphs originated from the Old Kingdom roughly 2,000 years earlier. Certain hieroglyphs that were not commonly used until later periods support the dating.
They identified rare symbols among the Australian Egyptian inscriptions, some of which were only added to modern Egyptian dictionaries in 2012.
This suggests the creators of these glyphs knew Egyptian symbols that scholars didn’t fully understand until recently, further supporting the glyphs’ authenticity.
Linguistic and cultural analysis
The linguistic analysis of a portion of the Gosford glyphs adds weight to their authenticity. They identified specific grammatical structures and word combinations within the glyphs that align with known practices in ancient Egyptian writing.
These linguistic features suggest a familiarity with the Egyptian language that goes beyond mere imitation.
Furthermore, the inscription resembles Egyptian religious behavior.
The writers document the survivors’ desperate pleas to the gods for rescue following the capsizing of their ships, their expressions of thanksgiving to Horus for their survival, and the need to bury the dead in traditional customs for their passage to the afterlife.
According to the researchers, the engravers were not only conversant in Egyptian, but their expressions were consistent with Egyptian religiosity.
Counterarguments and skepticism about Egyptian hieroglyphs in Australia
Despite the evidence canvased by Ibrahim and Awyan, skepticism lingers. Critics argue that the Gosford glyphs remain a hoax, pointing to modern alterations like the Anubis figure, which is larger than the other glyphs.
Granted, some parts of the site appear to have been altered or enhanced in recent decades, raising questions about how authentic much of it is.
Professor Ockinga visited the site 25 years ago when all the hieroglyphics weren’t visible. During his visit, he dismissed the inscriptions as “Egyptianizing” objects crafted by returning soldiers from WWI, like a sphinx and pyramids carved out of the sandstone nearby.
Yet, his response is a false equivalency. Are these carved sphinxes and pyramids intelligible hieroglyphics that tell a story? How can crude carvings of sphinxes compare to purported full-fledged accounts following a complex grammatical format?
Moreover, rare and obscure symbols, not cataloged until around 2012, add credibility to Ibrahim and Awyan’s claims. As referenced above, according to the researchers, some words have only recently been added to Egyptian dictionaries.
Therefore, if the glyphs were modern creations, the creators would’ve needed extraordinary knowledge about the Egyptian language, far beyond what was available to the general public or most scholars before the late 21st century.
In so far as them being a practical joke, placing the Egyptian hieroglyphs in a remote area of Australia seems counterintuitive for a prank.
Most hoaxes are meant to be seen and appreciated, yet the Gosford glyphs were hidden away, only to be discovered by those with specific knowledge of the site. Why would someone go to such lengths to create a hoax that might never be found?
Further support for an Egyptian connection to Australia
The idea of ancient Egyptian contact with Australia gains additional support from evidence beyond the Gosford glyphs. Boomerangs, notably found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb, may highlight their significance as a de-commoditized symbol of status in Egyptian culture
These offensive weapons, typically associated with Australian First Peoples, raise questions about their presence in Egypt and the possibility of trade between Egypt and Australia, directly or indirectly.
Supporting this notion, Ibrahim and Awyan have noted that the Egyptian term for boomerang translates to “foreigner’s weapon,” implying that the Egyptians recognized the boomerang as an artifact linked to foreign lands.
This suggests contact with or knowledge of distant cultures, perhaps even Australia.
Adding to this evidence, the oldest known tomb with painted decoration in Egypt depicts a map (Nekhen, Egypt, c. 3200 BC) with an island inhabited by a man holding what looks like a boomerang.
Along with North America, Ibrahim and Awyan contend that this is the earliest depiction of Australia, supporting their claim that Egypt had a connection with the island continent with a man brandishing a boomerang.
Egyptian hieroglyphs in Australia?
Ibrahim and Awyan are convinced that the glyphs are authentic remnants of an ancient Egyptian expedition that reached the shores of Australia over 2,500 years ago.
The presence of rare hieroglyphs, some of which were allegedly included in Egyptian dictionaries as recently as 2012, the alignment with Egyptian funerary practices, and the Egyptian expeditions to other parts of the world lend some credence to the glyph’s authenticity.
A sure way to falsify this claim would be to investigate the site for human remains. However, since this topic remains a point of ridicule and dismissal, no such corroboration seems plausible in the conceivable future.