En Route to the Red Sea Shore and Beyond in the Naqada II Period? The “New” Rock Art Panels of the Wadi Naqqāt near Hurghada

Abstract

The recent documentation of rock art panels in the Wadi Naqqât, near Hurghada (which have been known for decades but never studied nor published) invites us to reconsider the presence of Naqadan populations directly on the Red Sea shores in the Naqada IIB-IIC period (ca. 3500–3400 av. J.-C.). The panels are illustrated, described and dated. Then a general discussion examines all clues known to this date for these early connections between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea, as well as the possibility of Egyptian seafaring already in this early period.