The Marree Man
A pilot flying over the outback looked down and saw a giant figure of a man, more than four kilometres tall, carved into the desert. No one knew who had made it.
What was reported
On 26 June 1998, a pilot flying between Marree and Coober Pedy in South Australia saw a huge outline of a man in the desert below. The figure, of an Aboriginal man holding a throwing stick, was 4.2 kilometres tall, one of the largest artworks in the world. It had been ploughed into the ground and appeared to be new.
No one claimed to have made it. Anonymous faxes sent to the press mentioned American places and spellings, as if to hint at a creator from the United States. The figure gradually faded, and it was redrawn in 2016.
Explanations offered
Many believe it was made by an Australian artist named Bardius Goldberg, who died in 2002, perhaps with others, using GPS and a tractor, but this has never been proven. The local Arabana people raised concerns about the figure being made on their land without permission.
- When
- Found on 26 June 1998
- Where
- Near Marree, South Australia, Australia
- Witnesses
- A charter pilot, then the world's press
- Status
- Never solved
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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