Rock Art: The Cave of Beasts

8/16/2019 Rock Art: The Cave of Beasts

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The “Cave of Beasts” – Wadi Sura, Gilf

Kebir, Egypt.

The “Cave of Beasts” was discovered in 2002. Located in the Gilf Kebir

plateau in E!pt"s desert# this cave is one of the $ost spectacular

prehistoric sites of the %frican continent due to its richness and variet! that

e&tends over an '( $etre wide and si& $etre hih canvas. )t is the $ost

heavil! decorated *nown roc* shelter in the +ahara. The shelter is *nownas the “Cave of Beasts” due to the strane headless creatures that adorn its

walls.

Details of the Site

The “Cave of Beasts” rear roc* wall bears $ore than ,000 i$aes of well-

preserved painted ures# petrol!phs and $!sterious headless beasts.

These are said to be (000 !ears old and created b! hunter-atherers in the

earl! /eolithic period.

udolph Kuper# a Ger$an archaeoloist# used absolute datin to conclude

that the site $ust be at least (#000 !ears old. Both the swi$$in ures

and ani$als contributed reatl! to datin the cave. The ures portra!ed

in the shelter are found in roups dancin# swi$$in and huntin

.

1undreds of hand stencils are scattered throuh the cave and $ost

co$$onl! sinif! a ritual. The roups of hunters with bows and arrowsillustrated on the site"s walls# indicate the art was created b! hunters and

atherers. The dancin ures are understood to be parta*in in a ritual. The swi$$in ures suest the prior lare a$ounts of water in the area#

indicatin that the paintins were created in the 1olocene period. This'


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period is e&plained b! Kuper# who investiated the seasonal rainfall that

once appeared in the reion. Beinnin in about (00 BC# the cli$ate

attracted hunters and athers to the area. B! 300 BC# the rains hadstopped and hu$an population bean to recede# 2000 !ears later the

settle$ents disappeared entirel!. %ni$als such as elephants# ostriches#a4elles and ira5es adorn the cave walls# both painted and enraved into

roc*s. “)t see$s that the paintins of the “Cave of Beasts” predate the

introduction of do$esticated ani$als. That $eans the! predate 6000 BC#7

said udolph Kuper on datin the cave art. The $ost stunnin and

eni$atic feature of the cave is the headless creatures. The beasts capture

the attention of visitors due to their lare oddl! shaped bod! si4e. 8ithlon raised tails# and bull-li*e bodies# their two or three footed les were in

contrast 9uite hu$an li*e. %lthouh the $!sterious ani$als were headless#

hu$ans appear to be :swallowed" or :o5ered" to the$. %s the stranebeasts appear to be both hu$an and ani$al# the! are labelled

therianthropic# and suest that the ritual the dancin ures are involved

in is $ost li*el! sha$anic. +ha$anis$ is when a specic tribal person

enters an altered state of $ind and is rearded as havin access to thespiritual world.

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Creation of the Rock Art

The “Cave of Beasts” is lled with thousands of pictoraphs and handstencils that have been $ade with red# !ellow# white and blac* pi$ent# as

well as nu$erous petrol!phs that pri$aril! feature ani$als.

The red and !ellow pi$ent was $ade with ochre ;oa*austone colour# the “Cave of Beasts” depicts e&a$ples of bichro$! paintins#

$eanin two colours are used. The $ultitude of hand stencils found in the

shelter are described as :neative handprints." To create this techni9ue# theartist placed their hand on the roc* surface and blew paint throuh a hollow

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reed to produce a stencil e5ect. The petrol!phs found in the “Cave ofBeasts” were crafted b! lines cut and scratched into the roc* with a sharp

tool. )n 200?# archaeoloists e&cavated and uncovered $ore than ft!$icrolithic ele$ents that were distinctive in the 8adi +ura ae# $a>orit! of

these fra$ents were arrow heads# $a*in the$ the $ost probable tool.

Meaning and purpose of the Rock Art

The “Cave of Beasts” provides a rich insiht into an ancient cultural world. %rchaeoloists arue that the art found in the shelter relates to the oriins

of ancient E!ptian reliion.

)n a pro>ect that too* place in the 8adi +ura reion in 200?# a roup of

archaeoloists co$pared so$e features of the “Cave of Beasts” withele$ents of ancient E!ptian civilisation.

Evidence to the si$ilarities of both civilisations is e&posed in one of the

$ost i$portant scenes in the “Cave of Beasts” featurin a lare ure of a

co$posite bod! painted white. )t is a co$bination of beast@s les and a

fe$ale torso. The head is $issin. The ure is leanin aainst the roundin a wa! si$ilar to later depictions of the oddess of the s*!# /ut# in ancient

E!pt. %s for the earth# it is rendered as a red ure of a $ale# which

supports the bod! of the white creature# leanin on his riht elbow. 1is les

are unnaturall! lon and nine $en are depicted wal*in on the$. )n their

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hands the! carr! ite$s rese$blin >oints of $eat# carried in a si$ilar

fashion as those o5ered in E!ptian to$bs fro$ the ld Kindo$.

1owever# the basis of such conclusions was the process of ta*in sinularele$ents fro$ both civilisations to consider onl! the si$ilarities# whilst

inorin the di5erences. +uch a lin* is not entirel! i$plausible but# at

present there is no evidence to support it.

Signicance of the Rock Art

The “Cave of Beasts” is one of the $ost i$portant prehistoric sites in the+ahara as it is rich in culture and art and a debatable inDuence in reards to

ancient E!ptian reliion.

This roc* art is a testi$onial recount of the hunter-atherer lifest!le in the

8adi +ura reion depicted throuh paintins and enravins. The

thousands of pictoraphs and petrol!phs o5er an understandin into the

sha$anistic beliefs practiced b! this ancient civilisation# ivin a

$eaninful sinicance to the uni9ue headless beasts and hihlihtin the

si$ilarities of ancient E!ptian art.

The depictions in this cave are stronl! believed to be the predecessor of

ancient E!ptian reliion# with the si$ilarities between each outweihin

$ere coincidence. erhaps the ancient E!ptian civilisation was $ore


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selective in adoptin the “Cave of Beasts” ideolo!# choosin onl! the

desins that were e$otionall! and visuall! pleasin.

The “Cave of Beasts” is a site of $!ster!# rich in histor!# culture and art.

=id this area initiate other civilisations or are people >ust loo*in to nd

si$ilaritiesF This will continue to be a $ote point of contention# but in $!

opinion the data collected does conr$ that this civilisation# throuh its

roc* art# the “Cave of Beasts#” were indeed inspirational role $odels to

followin civilisations.

httpHHwww.duncancaldwell.co$H+iteHoc*I%rtIhotosHaesHCaveIofItheI1eadlessIBeasts#I8adiI+ora.ht$l

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Rock Art: The Cave of Beasts