Cave of Beasts
| Cave of Beasts | |
|---|---|
 Cave of Beasts – cut out | |
  Location in Egypt | |
| Location | Wadi Sura, Egypt |
The Cave of the Beasts (also named Foggini-Mestikawi Cave or Foggini Cave or Cave Wadi Sura II) is a huge natural
Geographical location
The shelter is located in the Wadi Sura at the south-western foot of the
Discovery
The shelter was discovered in 2002 by archaeologists Massimo and Jacopo Foggini and Ahmed Mestikawi. In 2010, scientists of the University of Cologne carried out an in-depth study of the shelter, calling it Wadi Sura II to distinguish it from the Cave of Swimmers (Wadi Sura I) located some 10 km (6.2 mi) further east.
Age and paleo-climatology
The rock paintings were created more than 7000 years ago
Description
The shelter is 17 m (56 ft) wide and almost 7 m (23 ft) high and contains over 5,000 well-preserved figures painted with red, yellow, white and black pigments. Hundreds of hand and foot
In February 2016 a report in the Journal of Archaeological Science concluded that the 13 small stencil hands (out of about 900 hand stencils) that had been considered to be human hand stencils "differ significantly in size, proportions and morphology from human hands" and were more likely made by humans using the hand of a monitor lizard as a stencil.[3]
Many of the beasts were intentionally disfigured in prehistoric times. Always surrounded by human creatures, the beasts catch the eye due to their body size and shape: Long tailed, bull-like body, frequently three footed with human-like legs. Even headless they appear either to spit or to swallow human creatures.
-
Detailed view of a beast -
Hand stencils over-painted with groups human beings -
Dancing human beings over-painted with yellow pigmented creatures -
Rock engravings of gazelles on top of the shelter
Some of the beasts seem to be wrapped in a kind of golden net.[4]
Furthermore, the shelter is covered with groups of dancing, floating or swimming human creatures.[5] On the lower left edge of the shelter appear two groups of human creatures separated from each other by a rock crack. The ones above the rock crack are holding a sling over his head, while the ones below the crack have a hand above their heads and are all looking all to the left.
Scattered throughout the shelter appear wild animals: an elephant, ostriches, gazelles, and giraffes. Along with the beasts the figures of the shelter represent a mythological world whose symbolism has not been deciphered yet.
References
- ^ J.-L. Le Quellec, P. + P. Flers: Du Sahara au Nil: ... Paris 2005, S. VI.
- ^ According to Linstädter/Kröpelin 2004 first the monsoon rainfalls withdrew to south and subsequently Mediterranean rainfalls disappeared leading to gradual desertification of the area.
- .
- theriocephalic figures (ibid. p. 115-115) are integral components of the iconographyof the emerging Neolithic age.
- ^ Some scenes appear to be trivial immediately denied by the appearance of the beasts (J.-L. Le Quellec, P. + P. Flers: Du Sahara au Nil: ... Paris 2005, S. 90).
Further reading
- Rudolph Kuper, Franziska Bartz (2013). "Africa praehistorica Bd. 26". Wadi Sura - the Cave of Beasts: a rock art site in the Gilf Kebir (SW Egypt). Köln: ISBN 978-3-927688-40-7.
- Jean-Loïc Le Quellec, Pauline et Philippe Flers: Du Sahara au Nil. Peintures et gravures d'avant les pharaons du Sahara au Nil. Soleb Fayard, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-213-62488-7.
- ISBN 978-0500051382.
- Jörg Linstädter, .
- Luc Watrin, Khaled Saad, Emmanuelle Honoré: The headless Beasts of Wadi Sura II Shelter (WG21) in the Western Gilf El Kebir: New data on Prehistoric Mythologies from the Egyptian Sahara. In: P. Kousoulis: Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress of Egyptologists, ISBN 978-90-429-2550-2.
External links
3D model https://skfb.ly/UwUp