A newly discovered rock art panel near Aswan in Egypt is considered pre-dynastic and thought to shed light on the beginnings of the Pharaohs. “A rock art panel near Aswan, Egypt, may depict a rare example of an elite individual from the First Dynasty, shedding light on the formation of the ancient Egyptian state. The late 4th millennium BC was a key period in Egyptian history which saw the beginning of political unification across Egypt, ultimately leading to the formation of the Egyptian state by the first pharaoh, Narmer, about 3100 BC.” (Egan 2025) The composition was carved at the bottom of a cliff and was pretty much covered by talus from above; soil washed down from above, sand blown up against the cliff, mud deposited from high water events and detritus from quarrying up above the petroglyphs position on the rock face.
Dorian Vanhulle, of the Musẻe du Malgrẻ-Tout, in Viroinval, Belgium, wrote “Uncovered on the west bank of the Nile at Aswan, the engraving consists of a putative authority representative seated in a processional boat, a scene that is otherwise well attested in Late Predynastic (Naqada IIC–D, c. 3450–3350 BC) and Protodynastic (Naqada IIIA–B, c. 3350–3085 BC) iconography. Stylistic similarities between this decorated rock panel and Protodynastic and early First Dynasty official imagery suggest the existence of rock-art specialists commissioned by regional authorities. Building on this contextual analysis, this article also advocates for the better integration of rock art in discussions focusing on the development of kingship and state formation in Egypt and Lower Nubia.” (Vanhulle 2025) The style of boat portrayal is pre-dynastic and the figures are simple and lack much detail, indeed, the five individuals pulling the rope seem to be simple vertical lines.
The identification of the lines on the right as five figures pulling a rope would seem to be reasonable. What was important was the boat and its passenger (and the steersman) so they are the parts of the composition that deserved more careful attention to detail. “The engraved composition consists of an ornate boat dragged by five figures to the right. The boat is propelled by a standing figure holding a rudder-oar and transports what seems to be a seated figure. The engraving is positioned at the eastern edge of a long, flat and otherwise untouched sandstone canvas that is visible from the modern road, although the drawing is too small to be observed from that distance. The current topography of the hill has, however, been drastically altered by quarrying activities and does not offer a pristine image of the original landscape. The (lack of) visibility of the panel in antiquity would have varied depending on factors such as the level of river water during flooding, light levels and the time of day/year.” (Vanhulle 2025) This suggests that it represents either a procession with an elite individual being pulled on the boat, or perhaps the boat is in the Nile being pulled upstream by the five individuals at the end of the rope. In either case, the passenger must be an important person.
As stated elsewhere, the boat image is in the style of pre-dynastic watercraft on the Nile river. “The outline of the boat is traced by an accumulation of peck marks. The inner part of the hull is left untouched. No trace of smoothing nor any kind of enhancement of the final image has been identified. The boat consists of a sickle-shaped hull completed by two vertical extremities. The apex of the prow (pictured right) ends with a horizontal bar from which emerge two short garlands that curl down inwards and another that falls vertically outwards. The stern (pictured left) adopts a slightly incurved movement and shows a rounded profile. The standing figure, with a rounded head and square shoulders, is wedged between the stern and the rear deck structure. Only the right arm and front leg are depicted, the other limbs being hidden as an effect of the perspective. The figure is holding a long rudder-oar that ends with a rounded blade. The prow is oriented to geographical north, and the boat is thus depicted sailing downstream, against the wind, which could justify the presence of the stylized figures that appear to be pulling it. Yet even if the direction of travel is incidental, ceremonial barques, with no proper means of propulsion, were presumably always dragged.” (Vanhulle 2025) In other words, with no sign of a sail or oars for propulsion, this watercraft can be reasonably assumed to be a ceremonial craft. This is, in effect, a stage setting to show off a very important person. This boat is oriented north because the cliff it is carved into is oriented north/south. The artist may have chosen to have it pointing downriver, or may have not thought about that at all. Presumably, a boat going downriver could have drifted on the current so five figures pulling may in fact suggest that it was intended to indicate that it is going up river, against the current. I do not believe we can know this one.
Vanhulle is here assuming that the location of the boat is purposeful, in this place that was an ancient power center in Egypt. “The Aswan-Kom Ombo region and the First Cataract were inhabited by a population mixing Upper Egyptian and Lower Nubian cultural traits. Various forms of political and territorial power could, therefore, have emerged at the same time in the Lower Nile Valley, with their evolution shaping the process of state formation in Egypt. It could also be suggested that Lower Nubian polities were less able to control a population that largely remained attached to a nomadic way of life. Differences in pace and form in the structuring of power in Egypt and Nubia could partly explain the outcome, which saw Narmer found the First Dynasty in Egypt c. 3085 BC and the A-Group disappear from the Nubian archaeological record in the subsequent reigns. Pharaonic kingship is the result of a centuries-long process, and its inception was not as straightforward as generally assumed, nor was it restricted territorially or culturally.” (Vanhulle 2025) This, the most stable of ancient cultures, developed a political system that, although it had its ups and downs lasted for over one millennium.
Vanhulle is assuming that the panel was
created upon instruction by a person in authority. “Rock art was not an accidental practice
but rather a social action that followed rules and had intrinsic meanings,
functions and goals. Addressing the use of rock art by local and regional
rising powers in Egypt during the fourth millennium BC offers new insights on
the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods. It also facilitates discussions
about the constitution of a centralized management of the original Egyptian
territory and its administrative delimitation. It offers information on how
Nilotic and desert landscapes were invested with
codified messages
by local authorities, and the ways in which these messages were diffused,
influenced and appropriated by groups of different ethnic origins. The rock
panel at SM36 is an important addition to the existing corpus of engravings
that can help us to better understand the role of rock art in the crucial
events that led to the
formation of the Egyptian state. Its fortuitous discovery shows the extent of the work to be done and the wealth of data yet to be discovered in the vast open-air museums of Egypt and Nubia.” (Vanhulle 2025: 14) Here, I take him to be saying that this image would not have been created without permission. This description of the importance of the rock art may make sense in a society as tightly controlled by a small number of elites as ancient Egypt, but I am not sure that this would preclude independent creation of petroglyphs by commoners. If this were done on the instruction of an elite these early period stone carvers are certainly not as accomplished as the sculptors of later Pharaohnic Egypt.
REFERENCES:
Egan, Robert, 2025, Rock art hints at the origins of Egyptian kings, Antiquity Publications Ltd., https://phys.org/news/2025-07-art-hints-egyptian-kings.html. Accessed online 10 July 2025/
Vanhulle,
Dorian, 2025, An early ruler etched in stone? A rock art panel from the west bank of
Aswan (Egypt), Antiquity Publications Ltd., published online by Cambridge
University Press. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.60. Accessed online 10 July 2025.