Tag Archives: Egypt

The Côa Late Palaeolithic rock art in Portugal. A brief comparison with petroglyphs of similar age in Egypt

Posted on August 21, 2026 by Per Storemyr

On working with Late Palaeolithic rock art in Upper Egypt several years ago, sometimes we used to compare the naturalistic style of newly found petroglyphs with photos of those in the Côa Valley (NE Portugal). This was because the large Côa site has open air petroglyphs, whereas most other Late Palaeolithic rock art sites feature cave paintings. But I was never able to visit the Côa site to see for myself how the petroglyphs compare. Until now. On a road trip this summer we got a glimpse of the Côa images, at the Penascosa site. This brief article shows many similarities between the rock art in Côa and Upper Egypt, but also a harsh difference: Whereas Côa is a well-managed UNESCO World Heritage Site, the rock art in Egypt is under immense risk of destruction by modern mining. Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Heritage destruction, Rock art | Tagged Côa rock art, Egypt, Egyptian rock art, el-Hosh, Late Palaeolithic rock art, Portugal, Qurta, rock art, UNESCO World Heritage, Wadi Abu Subeira | Leave a comment

Geoarchaeology of the famous ancient amethyst mines in Wadi el-Hudi, Egypt: Desert heritage at risk

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Per Storemyr

This fall I joined the Wadi el-Hudi expedition to the famous Middle Kingdom amethyst gemstone mines in the Eastern Desert south-east of Aswan. The expedition is led by Dr. Kate Liszka of California State University San Bernardino (US), and over the last few seasons it has excavated and documented the ancient mining settlements in very high detail. My task was to take a closer look at the geoarchaeology – to try and understand relationships between geology and mining. It is hugely important to document what is left, for the ancient mining area is now at high risk from looting, modern gold mining and stone quarrying. Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Egypt, Archaeology, Heritage destruction, New projects, Old mines, Ruins | Tagged Amethyst, Ancient mining, Egypt, Middle Kingdom, Wadi el-Hudi | 4 Comments

Turmoil in Egypt – the cultural heritage situation

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Per Storemyr

As mass protests continue in Egypt, the situation for the cultural heritage of the country is getting somewhat clearer. This short post is just intended to inform that the heritage situation is monitored at several websites.