A series of rock paintings and inscriptions in hieroglyphic style, which are more than 5 thousand years old, have been discovered by scientists north of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. A representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities told reporters.
According to him, the unique rock frescoes are most likely one of the oldest of all such drawings found so far on the territory of modern Egypt. The discovery was made by an archaeological expedition, which included specialists from the American Yale University and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts from Belgium, in the place of El Qabb, located near the world famous temple in honor of the ancient Egyptian god Horus in the city of Edfu.
The drawings themselves, which according to initial estimates of specialists, can be dated at least 4000-3500 BC, represent images of some species of animals and birds. Scientists paid special attention to the frescoes of several elephants, since among them a pregnant animal with a clearly traced fruit was depicted. For the oldest painting, according to experts, this is a unique image.
The discovered elements of rock art, and especially the prototypes of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in El-Kabb, allow us to hypothesize that the origin of writing on the territory of modern Egypt can be attributed to a much earlier period than Egyptologists previously assumed. However, before the final conclusion, specialists still have to thoroughly study the discovery of archaeologists and exclude any possible errors.
Alexander Elistratov
