BOAT PETROGLYPHS IN THE DESERT OF SUDAN:

Map of the study area. Cooper and Vanhulle, 2023, Fig. 1.

Recent rock art surveys in the eastern desert of Sudan in the Sahara desert have found quite a lot of rock art indicating that back during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods the region was wetter and supported populations of pastoralist. Interestingly, along with the expected range of zoomorphs and cattle one would expect to find in pastoralist rock art, there are also representations of a new type of boat.

Boat petroglyph. Cooper and Vanhulle, 2023, fig. 4.

“The Eastern Desert of Sudan, commonly referred to as the ‘Atbai’, is a vast desert expanse known for its goldmines and as the homeland of nomadic groups. Within this desert, the topography, ecology, and local archaeological material differs appreciably. On the main range of the Red Sea Hills, nearing the coast, many large cemeteries and nomadic habitation sites occur, owing in part to the regularity of orographic rainfall and water sources in the base of wadis. Contrasting this ecology are the interior deserts closer to the Nile River and west of the Red Sea Hills, sometimes called the Awliib or Atmur in Beha, which exhibit much flatter topography punctuated with inselbergs, sand-dunes, and numerous rocky plateaus and a much sparser record of habitation in historical periods.” (Cooper and Vanhulle 2023)  This lack of signs of habitation during the historic period is not doubt the result of the drying up of the Sahara during the early Neolithic Period.

Petroglyph locations and variations. Cooper and Vanhulle, 2023, fig. 11.

“In the nineteenth century, this region became well-known as the area of the ‘Korosko Road’, and established caravan path providing a shortcut through the Nile bend linking the settlements of Korosko and Abu Hamed. As part of the broad aims of the Atbai Survey Project, two seasons (2018-2019) of rock art surveys were conducted in the region of the flat deserts between Gevel Rafit and Wadi Halfa, especially around the massif of Gebel Nahoganet and Nasb Enat. Owing to the extreme aridity of this region, habitation sites post third millenium BCE are extremely ephemeral in nature and can be generally attributed to the expeditions of gold miners and foreign expeditions. Multi-period nomadic occupations are attested at the few specific sites where surface water is available. The exception to this pattern is the great proliferation of sites of Mesolithic and Neolithic date which are comparatively common in the Atbai’s flat Atmur wastes. Many inselbergs and rock shelters reveal scatterings of pottery from these periods, and it is likely that much of the rock art repertoire, the majority being faunal in nature, belongs to this phase of habitation. As with other ‘Saharan’ rock art zones, the types of fauna indicate an altogether wetter environment than the hyper-arid present, with conditions suitable for a variety of African savannah fauna like the giraffe and even elephant. The ubiquity of cattle in the rock art record suggests that the region was occupied by cattle pastoralists until an as yet unknown date, possibly as late as the third or second millennium BCE. After this point, decreasing rainfall rendered cattle pastoralism impossible. The specific desert region east of Wadi Halfa is in fact so arid and devoid of watering opportunities that it is rarely used by pastoralists today. Only seldom are camel and goat herders to be found in this Atmur desert, usually around the wells at Murrat.” (Cooper and Vanhulle 2023) As the authors said above, the climate of the Sahara having been so wet and fertile for life came as a huge surprise when we learned about it. Apparently much of what is now the Sahara desert once had vegetation, water and fauna, as well as human habitation.

The authors discussed a number of the examples of fauna as the subject at some of these sites, but at this time I will focus on the uniquely-shaped watercraft they found in surprising quantity.

The tunnel petroglyph panel (dotted outline). Cooper and Vanhulle, 2023, fig. 2A.

The tunnel petroglyph panel. Cooper and Vanhulle, 2023, fig. 3.

“On a series of small inselbergs (rock-island outcrops) south of Gebel Nahoganet, approximately 150 km from the nearest section of Nile, the survey identified four new rock art sites, mainly exhibiting faunal depictions. However, one of these sites, AS19.26, exhibited a notable feature in depicting a large group of at least six boats, reproduced along a horizontal axis of over two meters on the western wall of a small natural rock-tunnel that leads to the center of the inselberg. A single boat depiction was also produced on the other side of the tunnel on the eastern wall, almost as far back in the tunnel as is feasibly traversable by an ancient artist. In all, there are nine discernible features on the main ‘western’ wall. Six of these features can be identified as boats and the remainder are somewhat enigmatic in composition. These boats were arranged in an exceptionally unique manner on the rock surface in that they were depicted along the walls of the tunnel. The tunnel is a little over a meter in height and opens out into a natural rock shelter protected by a series of large boulders on the south side of the inselberg, making the sit in all probability suitable for habitation and refuge, shielded from the prevailing north wind. The curved nature of the rock as well as the cramped conditions made epigraphic recording exceedingly difficult, requiring instead digital epigraphic methods. Access to the tunnel requires climbing, a process that presumably was also true for the ancient rock art maker(s), although it is impossible to ascertain the height of the ancient shelter floor from our reconnoiter.” (Cooper and Vanhulle 2023)  One would not normally expect pictures of a fleet of boats to be found 150 kilometers (approx. 93 miles) from the nearest major body of water. Doesn’t this confirm that during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods there may have been lakes in the area that were suitable for boating?

Boat petroglyphs. Cooper and Vanhulle, 2023, fig. 6.

Boat petroglyphs. Cooper and Vanhulle, 2023, fig. 8.

The authors attempt to ascertain who might have created these images. “It is not easy to ascribe these specific boat depictions to any individual cultural grouping, although a ‘Nile connection’ seems likely based on the importance of the boat.” (Cooper and Vanhulle 2023) Given this assumption, they find it unlikely that the images were created by an early Egyptian society. “Perhaps a more plausible explanation then is to connect or attribute these images to local Nubian groups centered in the Nubian Nile Valley and/or the Atbai desert.” (Cooper and Vanhulle 2023) In effect they are saying that, while boat portrayals are common in rock art along the Egyptian stretch of the Nile River, these boat are unique in shape and have no analog in that area, thus, they conclude that this shape of watercraft is likely an early Nubian development rather than Egyptian. Indeed, given the relatively thick and stubby appearance of these boats they may have been reed boats made from papyrus by Nubians.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCE:

Cooper, Julien, and Dorian Vanhulle, 2023, Rock Art Surveys in the Sudanese Eastern Desert: Results of the 2018-2019 Atbai Survey Project, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Volume 109 (1-2), 189-208. DOI:10.1177/03075133231211917.  Accessed online 12 June 2024.