In the area of Wadi Ameira on the Sinai, scientists have discovered about 60 rock paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions. According to archaeologists, the images were carved in stone by workers sent on an "expedition" by the Egyptian rulers.
The drawings allow you to learn more about the pharaohs of the early period. For example, one of the inscriptions discovered by researchers mentions the name of Queen Neit-Hotep, who ruled Egypt 5 thousand years ago. She was the regent instead of the young pharaoh Jer, reports Live Science.
The oldest images in Wadi Ameira are about 5.2 thousand years old. The later ones were created during the reign of the Pharaoh Nebra, who ruled about 4.8 thousand years ago.
The inscriptions may have served as a sign indicating that the territory belongs to Egypt, says Pierre Thalet, a professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Turquoise and copper were mined in Wadi Ameira in ancient times.
Egyptologists previously knew about the existence of Queen Neit-Hotep (Neithotep), but until now it was believed that she was the wife of Pharaoh Narmer. The inscriptions indicate that this is not the case. She ruled as regent instead of Jer.
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The inscriptions found indicate that Memphis - the ancient capital of Egypt, also called the "White Walls", was older than it is commonly believed.
According to ancient and Roman sources, Memphis was built by a mythical ruler named Menes, who, according to some Egyptologists, was the real pharaoh Narmer. Inscriptions indicate that Memphis was built long before Narmer's birth. They associate the city with the name of Pharaoh Iri-Hor, who ruled Egypt two generations before Narmer.
Among the drawings by Wadi Ameira are several images of boats. On three of them, archaeologists have found "royal serekh" - a symbol of the pharaoh, reminiscent of the facade of a palace. In a later period, boats were laid next to the Egyptian pyramids, including the pyramids at Giza. The boats depicted at Wadi Ameira were more archaic than those found near the pyramids.