EGYPT: Archaeologists Find 3,500 Year Old Rock Art In Egypt

Egypt says archaeologists have unearthed 3,500-year-old rock art depicting bulls, donkeys and sheep in the Eastern Desert.

The Antiquities Ministry said Wednesday the discovery in the Wadi Umm Tineidba, by an Egyptian-American mission from Yale University, includes at least three concentrations of rock art.

Mission chief John Coleman Darnielen says the discovery provides evidence for the continuity and interaction of artistic styles of the Eastern Desert and Nile Valley.

The oldest of the panels is thought to date to the Predynastic period, between 3500 and 3100 B.C.

The team also found an ancient well, burial tumuli, and a previously unrecorded settlement dating to the Late Roman period.

One of the burial tumuli contained the remains of a woman who had been buried with a strand of carnelian beads and shells from the Red Sea.

To read about another recent discovery in Egypt, go to Honoring Osiris.

Egypt hopes such discoveries will encourage tourism as it struggles to revive its economy after years of unrest.


Tourism Observer