MYSTERIOUS AUSTRALIA

Vol 1. Issue No 5

APRIL 2011

INSIDE:
The Search for Burrunjor. Ancient Celts of the Northern Territory Border Country. Fossil Big Cat Graveyard discovery in the Northern Territory.

Mysterious Australia Newsletter February , 2011

Blue Mountains UFO Research Club. The Club meetings are held on the third Saturday of the month, at the Gilroy residence, 12 Kamillaroi Road, South Katoomba, from 1pm onwards. We are situated on the corner of Kamillaroi Road and Ficus Street, and as we always say, park in Ficus Street where there is safer parking.

Rex and Heather Gilroy, Australias top UFO and Unexplained Mysteries Research team. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2004.

THE SEARCH FOR BURRUNJOR.

By Rex Gilroy Copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

On Thursday 10th March 2011 Heather and I left Katoomba for Wycliffe Well in the Northern Territory where we were to take part in the Wycliffe Well UFO Conference. Due to flooding however, when we reached Alice Springs we learnt the conference had been cancelled. Regardless of this we made numerous finds along the way of both an archaeological and cryptozoological nature. Perhaps the most sensational of these being the discovery of fresh Burrunjor feet impressions amid which were faded tracks of what appeared to be Coelurosaurs, a small species of carnivorous dinosaur. We feel the only way these reptiles could survive in the modern age is by time windows, whereby reptilian creatures from cretaceous times some 65 million years ago are able to periodically enter our time dimension. From what has been gathered by us it would appear that they occupy our world for a time before re-entering their own through the window that permitted them to enter our time zone. The discovery was made on the Stuart Highway in the mulga country south of the Northern Territory Border. As usual it was another of my accidental discoveries, made when I had Heather stop the car while I went to take photos of the scrub. Within a few minutes I came across the rotting carcases of five cows, one torn in half. As decomposition would not take very long in the heat of the semi-desert country of this region I judged the remains to be only a few weeks old. It was now that I came across numbers of indistinct large tracks in the dry sand of the site, and nearby three large three-toed bipedal tracks of a large creature on an east to west direction. I soon found a long preserved track pointing south 11.4 metres away. A storm was building up, and although I had casting plaster in the car I judged that there would not be enough time for casts of these tracks to dry, so I set about sketching, measuring and photographing them. Allowing for sand distortion the tracks were 50cm in length by 35cm wide across the outstretched outer toes by up to 6cm deep. The lone track was 57cm wide, these measurements allowing for distortions could have been made by Tyrannosaurids of around 6.6-8.3 metres [20-25ft] in length. With dark clouds closing in rapidly something told me to make a quick search further down the road. As Heather and I drove there I had her stop when I noticed large markings in the sand on the roadside. It was obvious that something big had made them so a day or so before. As I reached the site I saw, embedded in the sandy bank of the roadside an enormous three-toed impression. Just inland from the roadside I found other indistinct enormous tracks in grassy soil made by the same creature. There were a number of kangaroo tracks mixed among those of the giant creature and it was obvious that he had pursued a mob of these marsupials across the road and on into the scrub. In the course of this the beast had crushed a large mulga tree splitting it in two in its pursuit of the mob of kangaroos. I took what photos I could and hastily returned to the giant track. Calling out to Heather to join me we hastily photographed, measured and sketched the track as spitting rain began to fall. Completing our work as the rain got heavier, we bolted for the car.
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Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

The track measured 66cm across the outer toes by 1 metre long from tip of mid-toe to back of heel. It was impressed 9cm deep into the sand. Here was the track of a full-grown Tyrannosaurid that would have been 12 metres in length. We drove on through the rain intending to carry out a return visit on the way home. ***** At Kulgera, just north of the Northern Territory border, a search for a Burrunjor Aboriginal rock engraving found on a previous visit failed to relocate it. However, I found two more. After reaching Wycliffe Well, a visit to nearby Devils Marbles resulted in finding more Aboriginal rock art of the fearsome beast. After leaving Wycliffe Well together with Greg Foster we visited Ewaninga Rock Engraving Site outside Alice Springs where yet another Burrunjor image was found among all the other Aboriginal rock art. On our way out of the Northern Territory we returned to Kulgera for more rock art searches. On this occasion I uncovered two more Burrunjor images. The amount of rock art devoted to Burrunjor by the former tribespeople is an indication of not only how widely spread he was, and still is in tribal tradition, but also how commonplace his presence was in the Northern Territory. Driving down the Stuart Highway we returned to the Burrunjor tracks site. To my surprise the tracks were still visible and three more had joined them, one being a Coelurosaur measuring 29cm long by 21cm wide and 10cm deep. Six metres west of this track was a Burrunjor impression 40cm long by 40cm wide, the third track, some distance from the others, was 28cm long by 38cm wide. We set to work casting the best of three tracks then headed for Port Augusta before reaching Broken Hill then home. We plan to return in 2012 but in the meantime will have other Burrunjor locations to investigate closer to home. -0-

Local humour. This highway kangaroo crossing sign shows local knowledge and acceptance of the Burrunjor monsters. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The dirt track in from the Stuart Highway near the rotting carcases of the cattle where Rex Gilroy made his chance discovery. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

The area of the cattle carcases is flat grass-covered red sandy soil and mulga scrub terrain over which Burrunjors and Coelurosaurs pursued kangaroos, as indicated by the dozens of tracks, indistinct and otherwise, which Rex Gilroy found over a wide area. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The carcase of one butchered cow, torn apart by massive jaws. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. Another of the four cows butchered by a Burrunjor. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

A trackside kill. There is the possibility that more than one Burrunjor was involved in these killings. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. The state of decomposition of the carcases suggests that the area is close to a time window and that the dinosaurs have been coming and going hereabouts for a long time. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

The large track, close-up. The middle toe is dug deep into the sand. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. Heather Gilroy looking at the lone Burrunjor track. It measured 57cm wide by 50cm long. Photo copyright t Rex Gilroy 2011.

The set of three smaller Burrunjor tracks. The reptile was heading west. The tracks measured 50cm long by 35cm wide across the outstretched outer toes. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Apart from the Burrunjor tracks there were also numbers of apparent Coelurosaur impressions. These tracks were found on a south to north direction and were associated with Burrunjor footprints moving in the direction of the Stuart Highway. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Some distance further along the highway the Gilroys stopped their vehicle when Rex spotted a huge threetoed impression in a roadside sandy embankment. Note ruler beside track impression bottom left of picture. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

The track measured 1 metre long by 66cm wide across the outer toes and 27cm across the heel by 9cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Heather Gilroy was amazed when shown the track by Rex. There were further tracks of the monster over the rim, indistinct amid grass, accompanied by more Coelurosaur impressions and the kangaroos they appear to have been pursuing. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

While the Gilroys did their measuring and photographing dark rain clouds were gathering, forcing them to complete their work in haste. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

One of the small Coelurosaur tracks found near the gigantic Burrunjor impression on the north side of the road. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. 6

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

Another Coelurosaur impression. The large number of tracks found suggests a small herd of these small carnivores were involved in the hunt. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

In its pursuit of the kangaroos, the Burrunjor giant crashed its way through the limbs of this large shrub. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The unchanged terrain of mulga beyond the north side of the highway, across which the dinosaurs pursued their kangaroo prey. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Another view of the south side of the highway at the first site. The ground in the distance contains a mixture of Theropod dinosaur tracks. Those Burrunjor tracks found on the first visit and cast on the return trip home by Rex Gilroy were part of a small herd. It is likely that more will be found on future visits to this site. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Rex Gilroy and Greg Foster wait for the casts to dry on the homeward drive. The small squares of cardboard at the base of the toes made it easy to dismantle the casts afterwards for easier packing. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

ANCIENT CELTS OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY BORDER COUNTRY.

By Rex Gilroy Copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

On our recent trip to the Northern Territory Heather and I made significant new discoveries pertaining to a large Bronze-Age Celto-Phoenician colony, established over 3,000 years ago. The finds come from a locality already known to us for the hundreds of rock inscriptions discovered at a megalithic temple during our July-August 2006 Central Australian search. The discoveries here began on Saturday 12th March 2011 when a search of hitherto uninvestigated granite formations north of the temple resulted in me stumbling upon a weathering stone head. A Celtic inscription still visible upon the right side of the face stated: Bel the Sun, the Sun-Serpent, the Eye of the Sun. There were crumbling remains of a basalt stone enclosure surrounding this large image, which I measured as 1.78 metres tall by 54cm wide at the base and 1.3 metres across the forehead. Several kilometres away at the motel we stayed overnight at was a large basalt stone used as a decoration for the motel grounds. The stone we discovered to be engraved in Bronze-Age Celtic script on two of its flat sides. The stone was placed on its side, the 1 metre by 75cm base showed it had once stood upright. I measured the stone to be 1.46 metres tall when upright by 90cm width at the tip and 56cm deep. The relic was a message stone and it bore the inscription: Light the Beltane fires. Worship the Goddess [ie Byanu] at this temple prepared for the Sun, Bel. Upon this stone pour water in libation. Here gather in a body. Ham, priest of Bel the Sun declares. We have known since our 2006 discoveries hereabouts that the colonists reached the interior by triremes before the inland sea retreated north and the river systems that branched southward from it also vanished, as evidenced by numerous rock carvings of triremes we have already found throughout this district. The region is rich in gold, tin and copper and once discovered was the incentive to establish a colony that supported at least several thousand inhabitants. Crops were grown to feed the colony, while overland contact with coastal bases at Spencers Gulf would have seen cattle introduced from the coastal communities, and also single-humped camels. We known this from rock carvings found at one large temple. ***** Following the discovery of a number of new Celto-Phoenician inscribed stones in the area, we uncovered a large stone circle. Built of basalt stone with a central 3.65 metre tall standing stone, this 12 by 12 metre circle parallels others found at other ancient Celtic sites throughout the ancient world. The central stone besides bearing the engraved message: Behold the phallus and praise Bel, displays face images of the God on its north and south sides. A pyramidal mound of tumbled basalt stones west of the circle contained two sets of engravings, one stating: All gather to praise the Sun and the second inscription which bore the large hieroglyph for sunrise read: Behold the light at Sunrise. Following these discoveries Heather and I continued our drive north to Wycliffe Well where other finds awaited us. -0-

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

A crumbling basalt head of the Bronze-Age Celtic Sun-God, Bel. Photos copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The inscription carved on the right side of the face. It reads: Bel the Sun, the Sun-Serpent, the Eye of the Sun. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. The large Celtic inscribed stone in the Motel grounds. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The inscriptions reveal a message to Light the Beltane fires and worship the Goddess [Byanu]. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Rex Gilroy sketching the stone and its inscriptions. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. 9

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

The stone circle constructed of large basalt boulders, at the centre of which stands a tall menhir or standing stone. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Another view of the standing stone. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The tall standing stone bears the images of two faces of Bel. Regrettably it has not escaped spray paint wielding vandals! Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Heather Gilroy stands in front of the 3.66 metre tall standing stone. Note the image of Bel. It faces north. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

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Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

Rex Gilroy standing in front of the other Bel image which faces south. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The Bel image. Note the weathered eyes and nose of the God. The images of this stone were carved at the time of its erection at least 3,000 years ago. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The Sun touching the head of Bel. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Heather Gilroy beside the weathered carved inscription found on the east side of the Bel stone. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The inscription in close-up. It reads: Behold the phallus and praise Bel. Photo copyright t Rex Gilroy 2011.

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The north head image in close-up. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The south head close-up. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

This important ancient Bronze-Age monument has not escaped the vandals. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Another view of the vandalism and many people continue to ask the Gilroys why we never reveal our sites to the general public! Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

East of the megalithic circle, hidden by bushland, are the remains of an ancient Celtic village. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. 12

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

All that remains of this dwelling are scattered rubble and the remains of a stone wall. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. The stone wall remains of another dwelling. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The former dwellings lined this ancient north-south road on both sides. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. A ruined high stone wall. The building when intact would have been of very large size and probably of some importance to the village. Photo copyright t Rex Gilroy 2011.

A closer view of some of the large stones. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The reason for the existence of this Bronze-Age Celtic community was this gold quartz reef which extends over a great distance running east-west. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

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Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

The pyramidal [east side] pile of large basalt stones bearing inscriptions, all connected with Sun-worship. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. The pyramidal pile [west side]. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

This inscription found on the stone pile reads: Behold the light at Sunrise. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

This inscription reads: All gather to praise the Sun. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Close-up of the praise image. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

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This 1.55 metre tall by 1.4 metre wide and 40cm thick basalt slab found near the pyramid pile reads: Behold Bel the Sun. Behold the Sun. Slay a sacrifice to Bel the great Sun-Serpent.. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

A 90cm tall by 41cm wide and 40cm deep basalt slab bears the message: Gather here in a body to worship Bels Eye the Sun. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

A crude birds head image unearthed at the stone circle. It has since been found to bear a short inscription. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. 15

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

FOSSIL BIG CAT GRAVEYARD DISCOVERY IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY.

Rex Gilroy Copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

On an expedition to Central Australia during March 2011, Rex and Heather Gilroy together with their field assistant Greg Foster, uncovered a Pleistocene fossil marsupial graveyard on a property in the Alice Springs district. The graveyard, consisting of limestone mineralised jaws, teeth, claws, spinal vertebrae and other bones of marsupial cats and other species dating back at least 1 million years old, was exposed from a creek bank on a recently flooded property. Interestingly, the incomplete and badly deteriorated remains of hominins who occupied the site in pre-Australoid [ie Aboriginal] times were also exposed, suggesting that a number of the creatures had been butchered and eaten by the hominins, who date to the era of Homo erectus. -0-

A section of creek bank where fossil remains of marsupials were exposed by recent floodwaters. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

A close view of the ancient deposits in which the remains had been preserved. Fossil bone fragments had been widely scattered in the sandy shore of the creek by the floodwaters. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Another section of the creek bank. Over 50,000 years of deposits cover fossils yet to be exposed. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

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Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

Among fossil remains recovered from the shoreline by Rex Gilroy and Greg Foster was this lower limestone mineralised marsupial lion shearing tooth. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Another view of the tooth. The jaw fragment is attached to a lump of limestone mineralised mud. As with all the other fossils from the creek sties, the tooth and jaw fragment are coated in a thin layer of limestone mineralised mud. The jaw minus the mud appendage measures 7.3cm long by 5.9cm deep and 3.2cm wide, the tooth being 6.5cm long by 3.2cm wide and 2cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

A distorted limestone mineralised mud coated lower right jaw fragment of a marsupial carnivore. The fossil besides being badly distorted during the early stages of the mineralisation process, displays cracks and a broken frontal shearing tooth. The long shearing tooth was used to stab at its prey. A lump of mud coats the frontal section of a large broken first right lower incisor tooth [not gap]. The fossil measures 11.5cm long by 12.5cm deep and 6.3cm wide. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Marsupial vertebrae. It measures 6.2cm long by 9cm wide and 6.2cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. Lumbar?? Vertebrae of possible marsupial cat species. The specimen measures 7.5cm long by 10.2cm wide and 5.5cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. 17

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

Marsupial vertebrae. It measures 6.5cm long by 11.2cm wide and 4.3cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. Marsupial vertebrae found scattered at the first site. Top specimen measures 6cm long by 7.6cm wide and 4cm deep. Second specimen measures 5.5cm long by 6.2cm wide and 3cm deep;. The third specimen measures 2.5cm long by 6.2cm wide and 2.1cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Claw of a large marsupial, possible marsupial cat. It measures 10.2cm long by 6.3cm wide and 6.4cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

Mineralised marsupial palate. It measures 7cm long by 7.5cm wide and is 5.3cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

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Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

A surprise discovery at the first creek location were the mineralised remains of hominin skulls. As the deposits hereabouts hold mineralised remains of marsupial carnivores and other species dating back at least 1 million years, the hominin skulls belong to the Homo erectus era and are therefore pre-Aboriginal [ie Australoid] in age. This incomplete skull possesses a distorted lower jaw with upper and lower teeth visible and remains of a left eye socket. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The skull fragment fits in the hand and belongs to a smallish hominin. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

This incomplete skull [facial area] displays distortion and the remains of a left eye socket, a large nasal cavity and cheeks. Three calcified teeth survive on the remnant right upper jaw. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

At a second section of creek bank some distance from the first, more fragments of marsupial bones were found scattered on the surface by the recent floodwater. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. Greg Foster stands on a sandy bank below which exposed lumps of old Pleistocene mud deposits revealed more marsupial remains. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. 19

Mysterious Australia Newsletter April 2011.

Rex Gilroy searching for fossils at another nearby Pleistocene deposit. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011. The exposed deposit in this photo is partly covered by floodwaters. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

A mineralised claw, possibly of a marsupial cat species, recovered by Rex Gilroy at the second fossil location. It measures 5.4cm long by 7cm wide and 3cm deep at the base. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

A surprised find at the second creekside marsupial fossil location was the discovery by Rex Gilroy of this distorted hominin upper jaw fragment, coated in a film of lime which gives a rounded appearance to the large teeth. The owner would have been a large individual. It measures 7.5cm long, 7.5cm wide and 10.2cm deep. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

The hominin upper jaw fragment, right profile. The recovery of this fossil demonstrates that primitive hominins were contemporaneous with the marsupial megafauna which they would have hunted, feeding upon their kills at this location at least 1 million years ago, competing with the Big Cats for the marsupial and other animal and bird food supply. Photo copyright Rex Gilroy 2011.

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Please Note

Our previous meeting was a huge success and we look forward to seeing you at our next one.
Our next meeting will be held on Saturday Road, Katoomba.

21st May, 2011 same time, same place 12 Kamillaroi

So until our next meeting Watch the Skies!

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