Amazing New Cave Discovered in South Sinai in Egypt.
On 2020, a new discovery from South Sinai came out to the world whereas the Egyptian explorer Samer Samuel discovered a cave through his searches in South Sinai. It is an archaeological cave holding many ancient colorful inscriptions that back to 10,000 years BC. These inscriptions were drawn with red color.
A team of archaeologists discovered a cave in the northern Sinai Desert with unique animal engravings, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquity announced on Facebook last week.
Compared to cave art discovered in southern Sinai, the newly described engravings have a distinct aesthetic.
A view of the cave
A view of the cave, located in Wadi al-Zolma, the northern Sinai Desert. Hesham Hussein, Sinai Antiquities
According to Hussein, the engravings, which are mostly found along the walls of the inner cave, depict animals such as ibex, ostriches, camels, leopards, cows, and mules. The team discovered the ruins of two circular stone buildings about 600 feet southwest of the cave, which appear to be the only remaining traces of a small settlement, but the researchers are unsure whether the people who built these structures also created the cave art.
Location
The limestone cave is located in a mountainous area of Wadi al-Zulma, a valley roughly 40 miles east of the Suez Canal. Its interior is around 50 feet deep, with a ceiling measuring roughly 65 feet high. The floor is filled with “large quantities” of animal feces and ash from burnt-out fires, Yehia Hassanien, director general of Arish antiquities, tells Egypt Today’s Angy Essam. These remnants suggest the cave saw relatively continuous use, perhaps by locals seeking shelter for themselves and their livestock, adds Hassanien.
The Sinai Desert, extending from the Suez Canal to the Israeli border, was important to the ancient Egyptians, who exploited the area’s mineral wealth. John Darnell, an Egyptologist at Yale University, told Newsweek’s Rosie McCall in January that the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities had discovered another art-covered cave in southern Sinai. This cave contained paintings that archaeologists believe date back as far as 10,000 B.C.
“The ancient Egyptians were prolific graffiti artists,” Darnell stated at the time. “They could not help but inscribe the landscape, especially on roads and at sites of activity in the deserts.”
According to Darnell, the painted imagery found in the southern Sinai cave is more rare than the carved images found in the newly discovered cave to the north.
This cave is located between Saint Catherine and Serabit al-Khadem in Al-Zaranij which is approximately130 km from Dahab.
What is the description of this cave?
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities reported that this cave is the first of its kind to be discovered in the South Sinai, and its depth is about three meters, 3.5 meters tall and 22 meters wide.
Additionally, it is mentioned that it is found in this cave animal remains referring that this cave is used as a shelter or a home for the Bedouins and animals.
What are the classifications of the inscriptions in this cave?
The archaeologists divided the inscriptions drawn with red ink in this new cave into:
The first section is the oldest layer in the cave dating to 5,500 and 10,000 years BC, it is characterized by the dark red color, these inscriptions are more realistic proportions than others, the inscriptions are such as donkeys and mules and handprints are depicted.
The second section backs to the Copper Age characterized by depicting women.
The third dates back to the AD time and presents people with the Howdaj (a bed carried by camels).
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