The rock art panel shows a boat dragged by five figures. It has a standing figure holding an oar and the head
and right shoulder of a seated figure inside the boat's inner structure, possibly a cabin.
(Image credit: Dorian Vanhulle (2025); Antiquity Publications Ltd.)
An ancient Egyptian rock engraving may have been carved at the dawn of the first dynasty, up to 5,100 years ago, a new study suggests.
The engraving depicts a boat that may have a royal figure seated in it, although only the person's head and right shoulder are visible.
The engraving is stylistically similar to ancient Egyptian rock panels from the protodynastic period and early first dynasty — periods that aren't well known to archaeologists.
These similarities hint that the newfound carving may hold clues about the formation of the Egyptian state, according to the study.
