Gilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave
Holocene humid (7000–3000 BCE rock art)·Gilf hunter-gatherers (pre-pastoral)·🇪🇬 Western Desert, Gilf Kebir Plateau, Wadi Sura, Foggini-Mestikawi Cave, Egypt
About
About Gilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave
Wadi Sura excavated by Almásy 1933 and Kuper 2009–, 7000 BCE hands, Lacan 7000.
Why it mattersKey Gilf hunter-gatherers (pre-pastoral) rock-art with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Construction labor organization
- 02Trade network extent
Theories
- 01Observatory
- 02Elite residence
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 7000 BCE hand stencils; 6300 BCE swimmers; 4500 BCE cattle
- Period
- Holocene humid (7000–3000 BCE rock art)
- Culture
- Gilf hunter-gatherers (pre-pastoral)
- Purpose
- Swimmers cave 2 — 100 hand stencils and 40 beast paintings (the Foggini-Mestikawi) beside Wadi Sura shelter
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1971
- Excavation
- Unexcavated
c. 200 CE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Gilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave
c. 7000 BCE hand stencils; 6300 BCE swimmers; 4500 BCE cattle
Initial construction / first occupation at Gilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave
On the ground
Structures & features
23.5810° N · 25.2320° E · 620 m · 3 mapped features
Gilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave — Principal Structure
structurestructure at Gilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave — outlier feature
23.5792° N · 25.2306° EGilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave — Northern Complex
complexcomplex at Gilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave — subsidiary complex
23.5821° N · 25.2320° EGilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave — Rock_Art Annex 3
rock artrock art at Gilf Kebir — Cave of Swimmers Annex Foggini-Mestekawi Cave — subsidiary complex
23.5828° N · 25.2328° E