Drawing the World: Petroglyphs from Kharga Oasis Salima Ikram, The American University in Cairo, Egypt This article presents an overview of a few of the rock art sites discovered and recorded by the North Kharga Oasis Survey (NKOS) in the western part of Kharga Oasis. These images are found on large sandstone rocks and include animals and humans, as well as Pharaonic and later inscriptions. During the course of its study of Kharga Oasis, the North Kharga Oasis Survey (NKOS) has discovered several examples of petroglyphs inscribed on the local sand- stone.1 While some rock art sites lie in the main body of the oasis, the majority are located in its western part, in the area of the Darb Ain Amur the route that connected Kharga to Dakhla, via the mini-oasis of Umm el-Dabadib (fi g. 1). Although the sur- vey of this area is by no means complete, NKOS has so far recorded rock art sites of all periods, from the prehistoric onward.2 A wide variety of motifs are found in this part of the oasis, including representations of animals, boats, humans, geometric designs, inscriptions (hieroglyphic and later). Some of the deities of Pharaonic Egypt, notably Seth, Amun, and an image of Tawesret are also present. At the time of writing this article none of the Predynastic rock art panels have been published and there is more exploration, recording, and research of the rock art yet to be carried out. Thus, in this article I will present a selection of panels from fi ve out of the 17 plus rock art sites 1. NKOS is an American University in Cairo expedition, co-directed by Corinna Rossi and the author. We are grateful to the Supreme Council of Antiquities for facilitating our work and also to the Antiquities Endowment Fund of the American Research Center in Egypt, the National Geographic Society, and several private donors for supporting our research. The results outlined in this paper draw on several seasons work, with a variety of team members, most constantly Pieter Collet, Alison Gascoigne, Nicholas Warner, and Leslie Warden. I am grateful to them and all of the others who have participated in this project, particularly Dirk Huyge for his generous help, comments, advice, and good humour. 2. The usual problems with dating rock art are relevant to the Kharga material. Most tentative dates are based on parallels from other Egyptian sites, as well as from what is known of the mate- rial culture of the Nile Valley. n°19 - janvier 2009 ● ARCHÉO-NIL 67 Drawing Corinna Rossi Fig. 1 Map of northern found thus far.3 These will show the range of the material from the Darb Ain Amur Kharga Oasis with main sites region, focussing on the non-inscriptional material. I will only provide limited analy- surveyed by sis of these here as our understanding of this area and its rock art is in its infancy. NKOS. Location and Environment The topography of the western part of the Kharga depression varies between fi elds of barchan dunes, vast tracts of powdery sand, playas, and uneven, rocky terrain. Occasional areas where the water table is marginally higher support patches of veg- etation in the form of camel thorn, and in rare instances, tamarisk trees. The fl oor of the depression is periodically punctuated by sandstone inselbergs of different sizes, which provide the sites for the rock art that NKOS has thus far found. Many of these are encircled, if not completely engulfed by sand, and cannot be recorded until the dunes move. Others have surfaces that are unsuitable for rock art. Weathering (sand, wind, and sometimes water) has obviously adversely affected the rocks, in some instances wearing away large portions of rock (particularly the western faces) leaving us with a slightly skewed perspective of what was once on them. The rocks are also quite fragile, with rock art images and panels breaking apart between one year and the next. One site has even seen some vandalism, with evidence for robbers trying to cut out a small inscription. They abandoned their efforts when the panel cracked and half of it crumbled. 3. I am not providing specifi c GPS points due to security reasons. I would be happy to provide further information to colleagues. 68 ARCHÉO-NIL ● n°19 - janvier 2009 Drawing the World: Petroglyphs from Kharga Oasis The environment and climate of this area, like the rest of the Western Desert, was very different in the prehistoric period (Schild & Wendorf 1977; Wendorf & Schild 1980; Churcher & Mills 1999; Caton-Thompson 1952; McDonald 2001). At one time some places were even forested. All that remains of these woodlands are petri- fi ed logs. The wetter, arboreal environment seems to have gradually changed to a savannah with acacia trees and lakes whose playas are still visible, supporting diverse fauna, similar to that found in Kenya and Tanzania today. Possibly this savannah-like situation persisted into the Early Dynastic Period, with the area gradually becoming increasingly desiccated during the Pharaonic era. Even then, it is possible that small pockets of water, perhaps seasonal, remained to support a reduced group of fauna and local fl ora. These might also have sustained groups of people, either transiting through the landscape, or staying for longer periods on a seasonal basis. For the most part the majority of inselbergs that provide the matrix for the rock art of Kharga do not seem to have been chosen for any obvious religious reasons, but rather for practical ones. There is a paucity of large rocks in the depression, par- ticularly ones with surfaces suitable for engraving. The few examples that exist are also important as markers and stopping points that provide shade and protection. Many are along the route4 that connected the two watered sites in the area: Umm el-Dabadib and Ain Amur, and thus are the site of images and inscriptions from many periods. Others border the edges of playas, and thus might have been sites for Neolithic settlements, temporary or permanent. Some possible early sites with lithics, ostrich eggshells and the beads made of them, grinders, and crude shelters have been found at or in the environs of the rock art sites. A few sites are situated in the area of the low spurs of the escarpment that borders the northern edge of the depression. Again, some are associated with the Darb Ain Amur, while others seem to be temporary (seasonal?) settlements, primarily dating to the Neolithic, although there might be earlier material (Epipalaeolithic) there as well (Dirk Huyge, personal communication). The main sites referred to in this article are found at Aa’s Rock, Fish Rock, Split Rock and its adjacent wadis, Snake Wadi and the associated Prehistoric Wadi. Aa’s Rock and Split Rock are large inselbergs located on the different stretches of the Darb Ain Amur, while the remaining sites, although not far from the others, consists of groups of outcrops or wadis in the lower areas of the scarp. This latter group seems to have been used over a more limited period of time and show no evidence of Pharaonic or post-Pharaonic usage. Dating the Rock Art It is notoriously diffi cult to date rock art. As the issues involved with dating rock art have been more than adequately covered elsewhere (Whitley 2005; Watchman 1993; Bednarik 1996), these problems will not be addressed here, particularly as the fi nds presented here come from a survey with no securely associated cultural remains. In some instances I will provide tentative dates based on super-positioning of scenes and parallels from the Nile Valley, both in terms of rock art as well as material culture, particularly decoration found on ceramics. However, the absence of a large corpus of fi gural evidence from the Nile Valley prior to the Badarian period, rather limits 4. Desert routes, like others, tend to change over time as the terrain changes. They also vary depending on the number of people and animals travelling on them, their respective loads, and a host of other reasons. Thus, the Darb Ain Amur has several strands, all working to connect the two watered areas. n°19 - janvier 2009 ● ARCHÉO-NIL 69 Salima Ikram what can be achieved in our attempts to establish a chronology for the rock art of the Western Desert. Within the limited means available, it seems that, with a few exceptions, the majority of rock art thus far documented seems to date from the Epipalaeolithic/Neolithic Periods right through the Islamic period, although the dating is imprecise. Aa’s Rock This rock is one of the largest and richest rock art sites in the area, measuring nearly two kilometres in length, varying between 750 and 10 metres in width, and approxi- mately 60 metres at its highest point, and is located along a more peripheral arm of the Darb Ain Amur route. It is named for the royal name written in a serekh found on the eastern side of the rock, containing the sign of an arm (Gardiner Sign List D36), and surmounted by a falcon (Ikram & Rossi 2004). Different panels of rock art are found on almost all its sides (parts of the southern portion are engulfed by sand), but there is nothing visible on the very top. Obviously the ground level varied over time, as some rock art panels are high up on the rock face, while others are lower, and many bear the marks of being covered by sand. Parts of the rock are very fragile; some pan- els have broken in two over the space of one year.