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Image Credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
10000 Years of Rock Art Discovered in Southern Sinai Shelter
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced the discovery of a significant rock-art site in South Sinai, documenting nearly ten thousand years of human activity in the desert landscape. The find was made on the Umm Arak Plateau during an archaeological survey conducted by specialists.
The natural sandstone shelter extends for more than 100 meters and preserves layers of drawings created from prehistoric times through the medieval period. The earliest scenes, dated stylistically to roughly 10,000–5,500 BC, include a hunter carrying a bow accompanied by dogs — rare imagery illustrating early desert hunting lifeways before the emergence of pharaonic civilization.
Later additions show mounted figures, weapons, camels and inscriptions from historical periods, including Nabataean writings. Geometric motifs — crosses, crescents, ovals and complex abstract patterns — appear throughout the shelter, indicating repeated visits and symbolic activity across millennia.
The site lies near ancient copper and turquoise mining zones and likely served as a lookout and rest point along desert routes. Its long sequence of engravings suggests that travelers, miners and local groups repeatedly marked the same landmark over thousands of years.
The discovery provides new insight into how communities interacted with Sinai’s environment and resources, revealing the region as both an economic and cultural crossroads linking different peoples and periods of Egyptian history.
Published on: 14-02-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Live Science