Sulu Sea Giant - Expert take on the discovery

I'm sure everyone is aware of the Sony viral marketing for their game "Shadow of the Colossus"... And among the suspects of "hoaxes" created by Sony was the Sulu Sea giant. (There's loads of threads on this ... this is a good summation.)

I was never fully convinced that the Sulu Sea Giant was part of the Sony viral campaign.

Back when the Giant first surfaced here at ATS (original thread) GameSetMatch and myself did some hardcore investigation hitting dead-ends; to uncover nothing that could support or debunk it. In the end it fell in the group of giant suspects created by Sony.
During my "investigation" I wrote several e-mails to experts on Marine Archaeology. No one replied. Until today. I like to share the response I got from Mr Steven Anthony, President of the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society. Yes, he does say that personally he (Mr Anthony) doesn't have a stance on the finding but as he said there is little proof that this is a hoax.

Now I'm pretty sure he qualifies as an expert on this topic, thus the reason I beg of fellow members to look at this giant without the idea that it's a Sony creation. Reconsider and analyse the "evidence" with a clean slate.

Here's the email.

----- Original Message -----
From: Steven Anthony
To: [Edit out my real name]
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 5:26 AM
Subject: Re: Possible New Discovery?


Mr. [Edit out my real name]:
I was shocked to discover your message regarding the Sunken Giant dated October 13, 2005 buried in my inbox unanswered. I apologize for not responding sooner. Your message was lost in the barrage of mail that hit my inbox in October and was overlooked.

I have visited the ATS forum and Ed Guyler’s website as you requested. I will respond to your questions in the order presented:

1. My guess is that the reason there has been little interest in the Sunken Giant is that Mr. Guyler is not a professional archaeologist and his find sounds too fantastic to be believable. Anyone who takes an interest in this project would have to spend a lot of time and money to confirm and document this find professionally in a way that would survive peer review and Mr. Guyler may not have the funding to undertake such a project on a professional basis. However, if the funds were available, I assure you that he would be able to attract reputable and qualified professionals whose research and reports would certainly gain media attention. Refer to Clive Cussler’s involvement in the Hunley Project as an example.

2. To get professional help, Mr. Guyler would simply have to raise sufficient funds to retain a qualified AIA. Once he has the funds, he should then select an AIA whose credentials and work have been recognized by his professional peers in the past - i.e. someone with a sound track record and a Ph.D. from an academic institution that is highly respected within the archaeology profession.

3. From what little I have seen so far, this doesn’t appear to be a hoax, unless there is evidence that Mr. Guyler is seeking to profit in some way from this find by charging for charters to the site, or finding investors for the project etc, etc. There are many instances of "Treasure Hunters" fabricating exciting finds just to attract investors who will keep the project going. If there is solid evidence that the find has value for the investor it might not be a hoax. However, far too often that is not the case.

4. I have no speculation on the discovery. Mr. Guyler doesn’t seem to have collected and presented enough evidence for us to evaluate yet.

I hope these comments have been helpful.
Regards
Steven Anthony
President
MAHS


(I would just like to thank Mr Anthony here for his time and input as well.)

i am shocked , nah , not shocked - stunned - i gueess some people either want to believe or are incapable of saying no

I find it interesting too - May I ask if you have mailed Sony for some hard evidence on what was part of their marketing campaign?

Well it is entirely possible this could somehow be real. It's unlikely, but possible.

I was watching some program on mysterious animals the other day, (Don't remember where) and they were saying experts believe there are between 30-40 million species of animals on this planet. most of them in the oceans and the seas. They followed that up, with we know only between 2 and 3 million. And of those 2-3 million, we only have detailed knowledge of about 200,000.

What makes this one stand out from the Sony collosus', is that there isnt that much evidence. We got a few pictures, and thats all. I believe all the other ones had actual video? Except maybe the one in the jungle, but it was hilarious big, so it didnt need more than a few photos.
This really doesnt make it stand out as a humanoid statue afaik.

Why doesn't the site give a proper address for his scuba diving business?
Why doesn't he give a proper phone number (in Phillipines), not an Australian Mobile no?
Why doesn't he answer his phone/email?
Why doesn't he change his answer phone message?


Or do you think he has been eaten by sharks?

Like if this guy is looking for people to be interested in what he's found, you'd think he would give an address and phone number. He gives directions on how to find Tacloban city and then nothing else...somewhere on his website he says"we're not easy to find but we're wort the extra effort" Yeah he's right they aint easy to find, they are impossible to find.

And something else buggin me is the picture of the sea chart on the desk, the red cross shows the location as nowhere near any land, but the sea chart shows the outline of the giant clearly in between two bits of land (the land is yellow on sea charts) I've tried to read the title of the sea chart the only thing I can come up with is "Matha Ha...." I know one thing it isn't a chart of the cagayan islands.

Also 125km nne from Zamboanga is not near the Cagayan Islands. They are at least twice that distance

[edit on 3/1/2006 by Wig]

Originally posted by Thain Esh Kelch
I find it interesting too - May I ask if you have mailed Sony for some hard evidence on what was part of their marketing campaign?

I wrote a gazillion mails to all kinds of people. Out of all the mails I sent out, this was the only response I got, which made me think that this was such an obvious hoax that people don't even bother to respond, or they're too scared to touch the subject because their reputations might be at stake. I don't know.
Anyhow, Sony was not included on my mailing list because I doubt if they would bother to respond or if they would confirm that it's their baby. And if it's their brainchild I don't want to give them the satisfaction of letting them know that it's working.

Originally posted by Thain Esh Kelch
What makes this one stand out from the Sony collosus', is that there isnt that much evidence. We got a few pictures, and thats all. I believe all the other ones had actual video? Except maybe the one in the jungle, but it was hilarious big, so it didnt need more than a few photos.
This really doesnt make it stand out as a humanoid statue afaik.

That's exactly why I don't believe this is from Sony either. If you compare the site's evidence - a handful of low quality pics - with that of say the Indian and the Russian giants - and the accompanying videos, the quality isn't even comparable.

Originally posted by Wig
Why doesn't the site give a proper address for his scuba diving business?
Why doesn't he give a proper phone number (in Phillipines), not an Australian Mobile no?
Why doesn't he answer his phone/email?
Why doesn't he change his answer phone message?


Or do you think he has been eaten by sharks?

[edit on 3/1/2006 by Wig]

You are quite right, Wig. As with all other "good mysteries" there are more questions than tangible proof. Getting in contact with Ed Guy would be ideal... Maybe those sharks did get the better of him. That would be a pity...

His answer phone wasn't on last night and the phone wasn't answered, (it was afternoon for them) His answerphone is now back on again (night time for them). Same message, ....."I've been eaten by sharks"

Originally posted by Wig
His answer phone wasn't on last night and the phone wasn't answered, (it was afternoon for them) His answerphone is now back on again (night time for them). Same message, ....."I've been eaten by sharks"

This is an interesting point... If Sony created it (the Sulu Sea Giant), would they really go that far as to create a phone account, with the "necessary" number (in the Phillipines), with a voice-mailbox?

If that is the case, then Sony surely mastered the art of setting up hoaxes? Maybe the US goverment could learn something from them...

The phone number is an australian mobile or premium service number, not Phillipine service, it would be an easy thing for Sony Australia to set up. But it might not be Sony, it might be some nutcase in Australia for some reason.

This has to be a hoax, there's no way he would have a business website without putting up his contact details - which worked. No site updates since August either.

[edit on 4/1/2006 by Wig]

Gemwolf I really think you should mail Sony. In any case, just give them some story about you being a scientist working in that area and that you are trying to figure out if its true or not, that a giant statue has been found underwater.


After all, we are ATS scientists, right?

one issue on the " phone thing " that has occured to me - woulkd an australian using a phone bought in australia , while living in the philipines not be subject to the dreaded roaming charges ????

a friend has spent the last 3 months in spain , and after getting his 1st moth bill - for £160 , his bill in UK was £30 most months so he got a phone from a spanish provider pronto

" roaming charges " are a &^%$ rip off - in europe at least you get charged even if you have " inclusive minuites " on your contract unused

if the situation is the same - any one operating a long term business in the philipines using a mobile " on account " in australia - must have more money than sense

just a thought

Anyone who works in Adobe Photoshop often, as I do, will tell you that those pictures have been doctored.

From the looks of it, someone took diver photos and manipulated or painted the photo to create the 'creature'.

The rest of the story I can't comment on, but the pictures are most definitely fakes. Sorry.

Originally posted by Thain Esh Kelch
Gemwolf I really think you should mail Sony. In any case, just give them some story about you being a scientist working in that area and that you are trying to figure out if its true or not, that a giant statue has been found underwater.


After all, we are ATS scientists, right?

LoL... Me? A Scientist... I just have no idea who to ask about it, if I were to email them? The MD of Sony Corp?

Have you tried emailing the email address which is on the whois registration page for the site?
[email protected]


However the hush.com login page for that address is saying it is now deactivated. This all just screams Hoax.

[edit on 6/1/2006 by Wig]

OMG its part of the viral marketing for the game Shadow Of Colussus The scourge of these boards at ATS for the past few weeks so i think the question has been answered already...

Originally posted by bmdefiant
OMG its part of the viral marketing for the game Shadow Of Colussus

The scourge of these boards at ATS for the past few weeks so i think the question has been answered already...

Would you care to prove that?

OH NO, THEY'RE BACK!
I am sick of hearing about these colossi! Do you not think that if they were real a major tv company (prolly History Channel or discovery) would have found out and done an investigation?
ISn't it odd that they all were discovered around the same time?
Isn't it odd that all of the sites they're on look like somthing my little sister made?
Isn't it odd that each of these colossi bear a somewhat striking resemblance to the colossi in the game?

Damn Sony got us good.

Originally posted by Wig

Originally posted by bmdefiant
OMG its part of the viral marketing for the game Shadow Of Colussus

The scourge of these boards at ATS for the past few weeks so i think the question has been answered already...

Would you care to prove that?

Well, there's the part where the image of the giant on the sea floor looks exactly like the 7th colossus in the game...I'd say that's all you need to yell "viral marketing."