Isabelle Therasse of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels tracing the Epiplalaeolithic rock art masterpiece in 2010. Photo: Per Storemyr

The rock art at el-Hosh in Upper Egypt is renowned for its fish trap motifs dating to the Epipalaeolithic period (c. 9000-5000 BC). However, during the 2010 field season undertaken by the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels several additional rock art motifs were discovered near the fish traps. One of these motifs is a true masterpiece of Egyptian rock art, which has now been published by Dirk Huyge and myself in the Sahara journal. It is a complex geometric drawing, and though parallels are almost completely lacking, the general style fits with previously discovered ladder motifs at el-Hosh – all dating to the Epipalaeolithic.

The el-Hosh Epipalaeolithic rock art masterpiece discovered in 2010. Photo: Per Storemyr

A PDF of our paper is not yet avaliable for download, but here is the reference to the details of the masterpiece. You can also contact me to obtain a PDF:

• Huyge, D. & Storemyr, P. (2012): A ‘masterpiece’ of Epipalaeolithic geometric rock art
  from el-Hosh, Upper Egypt. Sahara, 24, 127-132. Link to contents of the volume

General information about Egyptian rock art, including el-Hosh and the Epipalaeolithic period can be found here:

• Huyge D. 2009: Late Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic rock art in Egypt: Qurta and El-Hosh, Archéo-Nil 19, 108-120. View on academia.edu

• Huyge D. 2005: The fish hunters of El-Hosh: Rock art research and archaeological investigations in Upper Egypt (1998-2004), Bulletin des Séances de l’Academie Royale des Sciences d’Outre-Mer 51, 231-249. View on academia.edu

Previous blog posts about Epipalaeolithic rock art in Egypt:

• Online papers on rock art at Gharb Aswan (West Aswan)

Location of el-Hosh