A Northern Territory man has made a chance discovery, when he stumbled upon what seems to be rock carvings of a giant 50 meter long fish skeleton, as well as a series of smaller animal carvings.
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George Moussa was exploring in the Top End, when he came across the unexpected finds, which remind of a group of geoglyphs in Peru, known as the Nazca lines, believed to have been made between 500BC and 500 AD.
Mr Moussa, who was born and bred in the NT, said there was "always stuff to explore" or new places to be found in the Territory, however, his discovery of the rock art was "unbelievable".
"The intricate patterns are off its head," he said about the giant fish carvings.
"It just keeps going, it would be well over 40, 50 meters."
Mr Moussa said he couldn't believe the effort that would have gone into carving what he thinks might be a "giant fish or whale".
"Whoever did it, must have spent a hell of a long time doing it," he said.
"You couldn't even guess how many hours, days, weeks, months, years even (have) gone into doing this."
"It's amazing.
"I don't know what significance it has, whether it's to do with Dreaming or some sort of culture."
After stumbling upon the fish, Mr Moussa climbed down a hill, only to be surprised by a massive goanna carving.
"It's huge, well over two meters," he said.
"You can see its tail, its claws, carved into the rock.
"There (are) so many rocks and so many caves and so much hidden stuff.
"It's amazing. Gotta love the Top End."
Mr Moussa said he found the carvings in the "escarpment country", but he didn't want to reveal the exact location in the hope to be able to preserve his finds from vandalism.
"The last thing we need is people coming out graffitiing it or doing stupid s**t to it," he said.
Solved mystery
The large carving, in granite rock, is one of the Territory's best kept secrets - generated with a diamond cutter by a Japanese sculptor between 2004 and 2014.
In the early 200s, Mitsuaki Tanabe first laid eyes on the area, about an hour from Darwin, and with the permission of Traditional Owners then began to carve intricate animals in boulders.
According to reports about the original creation, the 'fish' depicts a large grain of barbed wild rice, but Mr Tanabe unexpectedly died in 2014, with the wild rice carving remaining unfinished at 82 meters of length.
However, in 2016 the ABC reported the man's son Taka had travelled to his father's carving site to have his work completed.
The Nazca Lines
In 1927, an archaeologist in Peru discovered large animal carvings while exploring the Nazca Desert.
Deemed one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries, the Nazca lines include geometric shapes but also depictions of animals, including a fish and a lizard, as well as trees and flowers, most so big that they can only be viewed in its entirety from the air.
The meaning of the Nazca lines remains unclear, with some theories suggesting they were part of traditional rituals, ancient irrigation systems or even landing sites for alien spacecraft.
The area where the Nazca lines were found was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994.
Annie Hesse
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books.
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books.
