Jebel Uweinat Rock Art Plateau
Early to Middle Holocene (8000–3000 BCE)·Saharan hunter-pastoral (Gilf Kebir tradition)·🇪🇬 New Valley Governorate, Egypt
About
About Jebel Uweinat Rock Art Plateau
Jebel Uweinat (1,934m) – tri-border massif (Egypt-Libya-Sudan) with Gilf Kebir hunter-pastoral rock art (8000–3000 BCE): cattle, giraffe, ostrich and archer scenes; Ayrton-McMahon 1900s surveys; Karkur Talh and Karkur Murr shelters. Surrounding Great Sand Sea petroglyphs document Holocene savanna environment transition; transitional between Messak and Gilf Kebir traditions.
Why it mattersSaharan mountain massif rock art archiving Holocene humid to arid transition
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Dating precision and pigment chronology
- 02Symbolic meaning and shamanic interpretation
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre and cosmological alignment
- 02Territorial marker and ritual landscape
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Rock art 8000–3000 BCE; pastoral cattle and giraffe panels
- Period
- Early to Middle Holocene (8000–3000 BCE)
- Culture
- Saharan hunter-pastoral (Gilf Kebir tradition)
- Builders
- Gilf Kebir hunter-pastoralists
- Purpose
- Saharan mountain plateau rock art archive of Holocene humid phase
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Rock art 8000–3000 BCE; pastoral cattle and giraffe panels
Initial construction
On the ground
Structures & features
21.9000° N · 24.9833° E · 900 m · 3 mapped features
Karkur Talh Shelter (Cattle)
rock art panelCattle pastoral shelter with long-horn figures at Karkur Talh wadi
21.9050° N · 24.9873° EKarkur Murr Giraffe Panel
rock art panelGiraffe and ostrich desert-wide savanna memory panel
21.8960° N · 24.9863° EAyr Well Rock Art Cluster
rock art clusterAyr wells shelter group linking Gilf Kebir and Messak traditions
21.9020° N · 24.9783° E