Archaeologists find 10,000-year-old rock art site in Egypt's Sinai

Its chronological diversity makes it "an open-air natural museum", according to council secretary general Hisham El-Leithy

MENA
2 min read

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
13 February, 2026

Hisham El-L

The site is located in the south of the Sinai Peninsula, where Cairo is undertaking a vast megaproject aimed at drawing mass tourism [Ed Giles/Getty Images]


Archaeologists have discovered a 10,000-year-old site with rock art in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, the country's ministry of tourism and antiquities said Thursday.

The previously unknown site located at Sinai's Umm Irak Plateau has a 100-metre-long rock formation whose diverse carvings trace the evolution of human artistic expression from prehistoric times to the Islamic era.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities "has uncovered one of the most important new archeological sites, of exceptional historical and artistic value", the ministry said in a statement.

Its chronological diversity makes it "an open-air natural museum", according to council secretary general Hisham El-Leithy.

The natural rock shelter's ceiling features numerous drawings in red pigment of animals and symbols, as well as inscriptions in Arabic and the Nabataean language.

More:
https://www.newarab.com/news/archaeologists-find-10000-year-old-rock-art-egypts-sinai