Clews Ridge small burnt bullroarer

Source term: bullroarer

No local Aboriginal-language term is recorded for it.

Among the rock shelters of Clews Ridge, a major ridgeline south of Gallery Rock in the Wollemi wilderness of the Greater Blue Mountains, an archaeological team led by Paul Taçon recorded a small burnt bullroarer alongside blocks of resin, the remains of fire drills, and a fire board — the ordinary kit of people camped and working in these shelters. The charred wood likely dates from after about AD 1800, since older wood rarely lasts in this fire-prone country; no photograph, drawing, or exact find-site beyond "Clews Ridge" has been published.

The find complements a wooden fire-stick located by our team in another shelter in 2003 (Taçon et al. 2005), as well as 3 blocks of resin, partial remains of two fire drills, a fire board and a small burnt bullroarer at sites on Clews Ridge, a major ridgeline to the south of Gallery Rock.

Taçon, Brennan, King, Pross and Kelleher, "The contemporary cultural significance of Gallery Rock" (2019), p. 79

Particulars

Object

One small bullroarer, burnt, found with three blocks of resin, the partial remains of two fire drills, and a fire board at rock-shelter sites on Clews Ridge.

Function

Not recorded.