Human Representation in Beasts Cave (Wadi Sura II)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Faculty of Archeology, Ain Shams University, Egypt

Abstract

In 2010 the Italian-Egyptian Environmental Cooperation established a protection project for the preservation of prehistoric cave rock art on the Gilf Kabir plateau in southwestern Egypt, where the "Cave of Animals or Beasts" in the Wadi Sura region of the Gilf Kabir plateau in southwest Egypt near the Libyan border is one of the most important sites of prehistoric rock art in North Africa, as it contains about 8,000 individual images centered on an area of 120 square meters and relatively well preserved, it is one of the richest rock art sites in the world, which date between 6500-4400 BC.
Rock images and excavations were combined in the Cave of beasts, modern excavations were also used in Wadi Sura II for individual figures in the cave. The necessary measures were taken to preserve the site by restoring and treating the deteriorated parts, in addition to photographing the paintings using high-resolution technology.
This research will focus on the patterns and conditions of the remarkable human bodies in the cave and try to interpret them and search for similar ones, whether in neighboring places or in later eras. Therefore, the research will discuss three points:
Patterns of human representation.
Human representation modes.
Comparison of the human representation in the Cave of the Beasts with the neighboring areas.

Keywords


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