Opener of the Ways The world's oldest maps discovered in Egypt's Eastern Desert By David Rohl In the previous article I reported to you on a series of survey expeditions into Egypt's vast desert wilderness in search of prehistoric rock art from before the time of the pharaohs. I can now reveal a stunning new discovery, made by the Followers of Horus Eastern Desert Survey, which throws fresh light on the mysterious people who carved those rock art images over 5000 years ago. During the most recent survey missions to the Eastern Desert, my dedicated team of recorders and researchers have discovered that the ancient artists were not only drawing images of animals, hunters and boats but, in key locations, they also carved maps on the rocks, indicating the best routes through the complex mountainous terrain. One 'map' even shows the location of sacred rock art sites and hunting grounds. But, what is perhaps most astonishing is the fact that these ancient map-makers predate their nearest counterparts by 2000 years! The earliest map previously known was the so-called "Wadi Hammamat Mining Map" on display at the Museum of Egyptology in Turin. Painted on papyrus, this comes from the reign of Ramesses IV (conventionally dated to c. 1150 BC) and shows the location of Egypt's gold mines in the northern part of the region that we have been exploring. Our newly discovered maps, on the other hand, appear to have been carved in the same era as the predynastic rock art, which has been dated, on archaeological and iconographic grounds, to some time before the foundation of the 1st Dynasty – that is towards the beginning of the third millennium BC. The vital clue to the new discovery had languished in the archives of the Egypt Exploration Society, London, for decades. This is where the diaries and photographs of German explorer and ethnographer Hans Winkler had ended up following his remarkable journey by camel into the Eastern Desert during the winter of 1936-7. In that year Winkler had set out to explore the Wadi Hammamat – the ancient desert route between Kuft (on the Nile just north of Luxor) and Kuseir (on the coast of the Red Sea), returning two months later with notebooks and acetates full of descriptions and tracings of prehistoric art. Winkler's scribbled diaries, in almost illegible German, and scores of large format negatives taken on this trip have received little attention since. Instead, scholars have tended to rely upon the official survey report, published by the EES, in which the 40 sites were briefly described and a few of the photographs and sketches reproduced. No doubt much more would have been done with the original records if it had not been for the untimely death of the explorer during the Second World War. Shortly after the publication of his discoveries, Winkler was conscripted into the German army as Europe plunged headlong into bloody conflict. He was killed on the Russian front in March 1945, just weeks before the end of hostilities. His project to search out and record the rock art from the Eastern Desert appeared to have died with him. It was not until the 1990s that scholars began to take a renewed interest in this untapped and much neglected area of Egyptological research. Over the last century, most archaeological investigations in Egypt concentrated on the architecturally rich sites of the Nile valley whilst the deserts received scant attention. Now, through the work of the Followers of Horus Eastern Desert Survey (EDS) and other enterprising missions, this imbalance is gradually being redressed. Our team alone has relocated, photographed and re-recorded most of Winkler's sites and, in the process, has found 75 previously unknown sites. It is certain that hundreds more await discovery as the search continues for Egypt's lost desert heritage. And now, as a result of some clever 'excavating' in the Winkler archive, we have learnt that the people who carved the rock art were able to perceive and illustrate their mountainous hunting grounds from an aerial perspective – which makes them the first map-makers in history. The story of this discovery shows how important it is to re-examine the records of earlier scholars armed with new resources/technologies (in this case the latest maps) and that essential historical tool – hindsight. An EDS researcher had gone to the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) in order to cross-check our recent survey work against Winkler's original notes and photographs. At that time we had not been able to reach Site 17 in the Wadi el-Atwani (north of the Wadi Hammamat) because the winding gorge leading to its location was strewn with large boulders, making the rest of the journey by vehicle quite impossible. The distance to the site – another 15 kilometres there and back – was simply too far to walk in the desert heat and, unlike Herr Winkler, we had neglected to bring any camels with us! As part of his investigations our researcher decided to take a look at Winkler's Site 17 material in the EES archive to see if it would be worth trying to find another way to reach the location and record what was there. One of the faded photographs caught his attention. Amongst a clutter of animal carvings, he noticed a meandering line with several other lines branching off it. He checked Winkler's notes and found the comment 'spirals and wavy lines'. It suddenly dawned on him that what he had in front of him was not a crudely drawn decorative motif but an ancient map. Of particular significance was the fact that the main meandering line had two large dots on it. The researcher took a photocopy of the picture and rushed home to compare his putative 'ancient map' with the detailed modern cartography of the Wadi el-Atwani area. He immediately saw that the lines carved at Site 17 corresponded closely to the main wadi systems on the large-scale maps. Moreover, it was surely no coincidence that the positions of the dots matched the GPS (satellite) co-ordinates of the two most significant rock art locations in the region – Sites 15 and 17. It looked like Winkler's 'spirals and wavy lines' really were an attempt to represent the physical topography on the ground. Other survey team members were notified of the discovery and enthusiastically began checking our own photographs. As a result, we have now confirmed the existence of at least two more meandering lines which appear to be ancient maps, located in widely dispersed parts of the desert. The Wadi Abu Markab el-Nes map, also photographed by Winkler at his Site 26, covers a large area of desert around the majestic black peak of Gebel esh-Shalul – again another close fit. A third ancient map was found on one of our own photographs from a newly discovered site in the Wadi Umm Salam. This last map clearly shows the local wadi system and an intriguing, almost circular, wadi loop which has still to be explored and which may contain further rock art sites. ***** How is it possible that there was so much activity – both animal and human –  in this parched desert region? The answer is to be found in studies of the post-glacial climate of north-east Africa. Geological and climatological research has demonstrated that in prehistoric times Egypt boasted a much wetter climate than in the pyramid era and later. During the predynastic period what is now called the Eastern Desert was teeming with wildlife. The dry wadis we are familiar with were once semi fertile valleys with occasional watering holes located at the largest rock art sites. This landscape, which is so inhospitable today, once sustained a rich variety of animals migrating through the sandstone mountains from oasis to oasis. The prehistoric art depicts species which are normally associated with the Savannah regions of sub-Saharan Africa – elephants, giraffes, wild cattle, leopards, gazelles, ibexes, ostriches, and even water wallowers such as the hippopotamus and crocodile. The rock drawings also confirm that early man exploited this rich fauna to the full. Many of the scenes show hunters with packs of hounds trapping and killing their prey. The hunters carry bows, clubs, throw-sticks and lassoes. Some carvings show tethered animals, about to be ritually slaughtered by plumed figures with charged bows. This practice continued into the historical period when Pharaoh and his priestly representatives performed blood sacrifice in sacred rituals designed to control the powerful forces of nature. Our prehistoric precursors of these 'Master of Animals' rites must also have had religious significance – but here, at this early epoch, represented in its most primitive form. What is more, many of the hunting scenes appear to be shamanistic in character. The human figures have animals' tails attached to their waists and wear horns or feathers on their heads. By representing themselves in the guise of wild bulls, leopards or birds, the hunters wished to take on the magical powers and strengths of the beasts they had conquered. Again, we see this transferred down into the religious art of the pharaonic era when the gods are depicted wearing tall twin plumes on their heads and crowns consisting of solar disks mounted between bovine horns. The concentration of rock art at certain sites suggests that the killing zones – usually located in canyon bottlenecks – were regarded as spiritual places, regularly visited by generations of hunters. The maps we have found seem to have been intended to guide those subsequent generations to their ancestral hunting grounds. Our task will be to trace the routes being represented to see if they lead to further discoveries and, perhaps, more clues to help us unlock the secrets of these early desert hunters. The Eastern Desert is a crucial area for future Egyptological research. It holds one of the most important keys to a better understanding of how the pharaonic state, with its complex kingship and religious rituals, came into being. There can now be little doubt that the primeval rites portrayed in the desert rock art were carried through into the pharaonic era and continued in use, albeit in a much more ceremonialised form, for another 3000 years. What secrets might the Eastern Desert still hold for Egyptology? Reports continue to come in from all over the region, each new discovery adding a crucial piece to the jigsaw puzzle of early Egyptian origins. The mysterious ancestors of the pharaohs are finally beginning to communicate through their strange and exotic art. It has taken thousands of years for us to return to the Egyptian wilderness where it all began … but we have finally arrived – and with the ancient maps to guide us. ***** The operation of the Eastern Desert Surveys: The Followers of Horus Eastern Desert Surveys (supported by the Institute for the Study of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Ancient World Tours) have been tremendously successful, in spite of the huge logistical difficulties associated with such challenging environments. Each expedition involves a 1000-kilometre trek across some of the most difficult desert terrain using four-wheel-drive jeeps. A survey team of between 10 and 20 volunteers spends several days camping in the wilderness. They have to bring all their supplies and equipment with them including food, tents, a mobile kitchen, maps, satellite navigation systems and telephones, fuel and, most importantly, drinking water.     Experience has taught the expedition leaders that the best place to look for rock art sites is in the sandstone mountain belt which runs north-south, midway between the Nile and Red Sea coast. Wadi canyons are prime locations because they tend to have smooth rock surfaces which were ideal canvases for the ancient artists. These gorges were also perfect spots for hunters who could rest under shady overhangs or in caves whilst waiting for their prey to migrate through the wadis. The sandstone rocks have dark red surfaces, tanned by the baking sun, which, when incised, become almost white in appearance. Carvings from the pharaonic period, dating to around 1000 BC, look as if they were made yesterday, but the prehistoric carvings are much darker in appearance since the wind-blown sand and sun have gradually returned the rock to its original colour. This relative tanning or darkening of the carvings is called 'patina' with light patination being late in date and dark being early. All three of our maps appear to be the same dark patination which we observe for the most ancient hunting scenes and prehistoric boat representations and must therefore be of the same general date. The depiction of so many boats (hundreds found to date) continues to be one of Egyptology's great mysteries.

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