Archaeologists document 12,000 year old inscription in South Sinai

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Archaeologists document 12,000 year old inscription in South Sinai

January 22, 20201:56 pm

The archaeological mission of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has finished documenting a colorful antique inscription dating back to about 10,000 years BC found in an archaeological cave located roughly 60km southeast of Serabit al-Khadem, and 30km north of Saint Catherine, as part of a project documenting rock inscriptions in South Sinai. the cave was located in a difficult region called al-Zaranij. The sandstone cave is at a depth of about three meters, 3.5 meters tall, and 22 meters wide, and is the first of its kind to be discovered in South Sinai.It was found by chance, upon notification from a desert adventurer in South Sinai.The discovered cave contains many colorful inscriptions, some on the ceiling of the cave and others on the stone blocks falling on the floor of the cavethat the mission also found large quantities of animal remains in the cave, indicating its use as a shelter for the Bedouins and animals from poor weather in the past.The discovered inscriptions depict many different scenes dating back to various eras, The inscriptions were divided into a number of groups.The first group was drawn on the oldest layer of the ceiling of the cave. It dates back to a period estimated between 5,500 and 10,000 years BC, and is characterized by a dark red color.Animals depicted include a donkey and mule, characterized by more realistic proportions unlike the rest of the scenes. Five animals and hand prints are depicted on the ceiling at the entrance of the cave dating back to the same eraThe second group likely dates back to the Copper Age and is characterized by scenes of women, , in addition to animal scenes while the third and final group dates to the AD era and depicts people with “Howdah” (a bed carried by camels).