Korean Rock-Art "Bunyips" (?Plesiosaurs)

 
While I was doing research towards the recent postings at the Frontiers of Zoology and more specifically into the Early Neolithic of East Asia, I came across this curious scene depictyed on a rock face in Korea. The scene depicts some whales apparantly beached or hauled ashore and being flensed. Among them are several depictions of longnecked creatures similar to some of the Long-Necked "Bunyips" depicted in Australian Rock Art, and some of these depictions resemble supposedly-extinct Plesiosaurs.

In this section to the upper left of the original are several creatures which look to be perhaps very large turtles. In sea turtles however the foreflippers are very large and the rear ones small: in these the flippers all look to be the same length. Moreover the one in the rear of their line, the fourth one  in the cluster and overlapping the figure in lighter green, is facing down the other direction with a longer neck and a  more distinctive head. It seema like a perspective shot with the forequarters well defined and the rear end indistinct: there is a faint indiucations of rear flippers but not the tail (which would be hidden by the body if this were a natural view). Because that one looks more distinctly like a Plesiosaur, I am willing to say that the others in that cluster are likewise.

In this section toward the middle of the whole, there are a couple of longnecked creatures at the topo, a human figure directly in front of the creature on top, and a ship further off to the right. The tail is not shown on the creature at the top, but its arched neck is thicker and it seems to have a horselike head and a mane. I am willing to say this is a "Merhorse" and the pair is meant to be a "Caddy and Amy" couple. There are two large creatures (?"Wasco" Sea Wolves) below them and off to the right of these two, another depiction of what could be a more distinctively Plesiosaur-shaped creature facing the other way. At the bottom there are also, interestingly, a kneeling anthropomorphic bear and a "Plucked chicken" Thunderbird to the right of a whale To the right again of the "Pluckled Chicken" is another version of the Plesiosauian creature as a "Waterhorse" with a bulky ovoid body and four flippers: it is not certain if it is meant to have a tail because there is another (smaller) whale directly behind it where its tail would be, lying crosswise to the body axis of the other creature.

To the far left at the top of the rock face is this other section which also seems to indicate a very long-necked "Waterhorse" only this one more definitely has little or no tail. Directly above it is a long, low-slung creature which may be intended to show a "Waterhorse" swimming at length and showing a row of humps at the surface. This is more problematic. Below them there seem to be some more "Sea-Wolves" and one creature with an exceptionally long tail.

And finally we come to this section at the far left, lower row, which seems to show a crocodile or alligator-like creature (in blue) and several large "Sea Snakes (Some of which are possibly eels) In this section, the most distinctively Plesiosaurian-looking creature is circled in red and it has its neck curled around so that its head faces back, the head end closest to where two whales almost meet nose-to-nose (at right angles to one another) There are some more possible human figures in this section as well.

Best Wishes, Dale D.

Icelandic Sea Monsters

Since the subject of Icelandic Sea Monsters came up again on the regular CFZ blog, I decided to go back and reprint some material which I found whan the matter came up before.

http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_life/?cat_id=16568&ew_0_a_id=364245


27/06/2010 10:00

Of Monsters and Men


Last summer, I travelled for the first time to the West Fjords, that marvellous cluster of rough and rugged fjords. One of the destinations was Bíldudalur, on the southern side of Arnarfjördur fjord.

This village of 200 is best known for three things. Firstly, green beans – an Icelandic Sunday lamb essential – used to be manufactured here. Secondly, a singer has turned his home into a shrine to Icelandic pop music. Then there's The Icelandic Sea Monster Museum, which funnily enough, is located in the old green bean factory. Arnarfjördur fjord has in fact established a reputation as being the habitat of sea monsters, with more than 200 documented sightings through the centuries.

The museum, which opened its doors last year, is a vast black space, broken up in the centre by a tall glass case containing books, photographs, letters, seashells and other items related to the theme. Plasma screens on the walls show interviews with people describing their monster sightings, mixed in with eerie images of an angry sea.

The museum's pride is a sizeable interactive glass table containing an old style map of the fjord. By moving a glass sphere over the place names, somewhat like playing spirit of the glass, related monster stories pop up.

Visiting Arnarfjördur bore a special significance to me. On a farm in a secluded valley overlooking the fjord, my late grandmother was born and raised. I felt myself getting closer to my roots.

Excited as a child on Christmas Morning, I slid the sphere across the map, placing it over her valley. Sure enough, an account of a monster sighting appears on the screen.

I could hardly believe my eyes when I realized that the eyewitness was her brother. My granduncle.

It was the year 1927 and he was fourteen years old. On a dusky autumn afternoon, he noticed a maroon-coloured beast standing on the beach. It was at least ten feet long and the height of a calf. Its head was large and ugly; it had huge protruding eyes and a tangled mane, resembling that of a lion. The beast appeared to be covered in seashells; its arched back was wide and cylindrical; its large tail narrowed downwards. It was turned away from him, snooping about in the seaweed. But when he threw a rock in its direction, it slowly turned around, raising its ugly head and staring at him.

Beholding its jaws, he panicked and ran all the way home.

When he got home and told the shocking tale, an old man gathered that this had been a malicious sheep-like creature called fjörulalli, infamous for trying to drive humans into the sea.

Luckily enough, my great uncle managed to escape.

Heading towards our next destination, my grandmother's valley, the sea monsters remained on my mind, especially the one that my uncle claimed to have seen. While realizing that these are mythical creatures, deep down inside I can't help believing in their existence.

To me, the West Fjords are a place where anything can happen.

Ásta Andrésdóttir – asta@heimur.is

[--This is possibly of the same category as the Irish Master-otter, but its coat seems thicker than usual. It also could just possibly be something like the Hoy SS since the ears are not mentioned, but a tail is also mentioned and it is said to be large. It is possible that the ears are folded down as they are sometimes said to be.--Best Wishes, Dale D.]




Reconstruction drawing of the "Scaly Monster" or "Shelly Beast," The Skeljaskrimsli






Here is my reply to Jon Downe's notice of Saturday morning:
Re: [frontiers-of-zoology] SUNDAY AT THE CFZ: Icelandic beast, sea monsters, piasa, anti capitalism, Sidney Sime, conjoined twins, Haunted Skies, Yesterday's News Today

http://grapevine.is/Home/ReadArticle/Claims-Sea-Monster-Lives-In-Fjord

http://www.grapevine.is/Travel/ReadArticle/You-Will-Believe-In-Bildudalur-Visiting-The-Sea-Monster-Museum


The Icelandic monsters are interesting, I have noted a report of the "Skeljaskrimsli" in this group before and it seems to be a sort of a Master-otter again, the one in the report having shells and beach debris in its fur from wallowing on the beach. And the "Merhorse" creature as described is the Scandinavian (and Scottish) Merhorse all over again.
I might make a blog posting of this. The "Skeljaskrimli" is reportedly about ten feet long and it seems to be another one of those "Scaly otters" with the fur that sticks together in locks. Several features are worth noting: A) the feet are clawed, webbed, and held clomsily for walking on land: B) the snout is elongated and projects foreward a good deal beyond the front teeth, and C) the tail is flattened out and broader at the end (Several reports say the tail is MUCH longer than this illustration shows)

Some reports also give it multiple legs, after the fashion of the Pal-Rai-Yuk. There used to be equivalent reports from Greenland, but not for many years now.

Best Wishes, Dale D.

And I also made up a comparison of the reconstruction with a Pacific Sea Otter, which sometimes has a "Grizzly" effect to the fur and can look "Scaled" when not evenly wetted all over:








The stance and the proportions look similar to me, and the illustrator of the Scaly Monster only had descriptions to go on, he hadn't seen it himself.







...And for the curious, here is a stamp illustrating the NW Coast version of the Sea Wolves:













...And then again something else that also turned up on the photo search, a large otter pretending to be Caddy (Cadborosaurus) Perhaps a Sea Wolf? The head is turned at such an angle that you cannot make out is features very distinctly.












Best Wishes, Dale D.