Umm Arak Plateau rock art is now on Egypt’s archaeological map after the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the documentation of a previously unknown rock-shelter site in South Sinai on February 12, 2026. Officials said the Umm Arak Plateau rock art record preserves evidence of human activity across millennia, and argued the discovery could strengthen cultural tourism if the site can be protected.
What Egypt says was found
The ministry said an Egyptian archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities identified the Umm Arak Plateau rock art site as a major concentration of drawings, carvings, and inscriptions. It described the place as holding exceptional historical and artistic value, with traces showing people returned to it repeatedly over long periods.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said the discovery is a qualitative addition to Egypt’s antiquities map and reflects Sinai’s cultural and human richness. He said discoveries like the Umm Arak Plateau rock art site can support Egypt’s drive to expand cultural tourism beyond the most visited Nile Valley sites.
The “natural open-air museum” label
Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the chronological and technical diversity of the Umm Arak Plateau rock art makes it a “natural open-air museum.” In the ministry’s framing, that diversity documents how symbolic and artistic expression changed from prehistory through Islamic periods.
Where the Umm Arak Plateau rock art site is located
Mohamed Abdel Badi, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, said the find comes from ongoing survey and scientific documentation work on rock inscriptions in South Sinai. The ministry placed the Umm Arak Plateau rock art site in a sandy area about 5 kilometers northeast of the Temple of Serabit el-Khadim and nearby ancient copper and turquoise mining zones.
Officials described the plateau as a strategic overlook with wide sightlines stretching north, which they say may explain why it was used as a lookout, gathering point, and rest stop. The ministry also credited Sheikh Rabie Barakat, from the Serabit el-Khadim area, with guiding the team to the location during survey work.
Inside the rock shelter
The ministry said the mission documented a naturally formed sandstone rock shelter running along the eastern side of the plateau. It extends for more than 100 meters, with a depth of roughly 2 to 3 meters and a ceiling height that drops from about 1.5 meters to about 0.5 meters in places.
Officials said the ceiling preserves a large number of red-pigment drawings showing animals and other symbols that are still under study. They also reported a second set of grey drawings that they say has been documented for the first time, alongside additional carvings made using multiple techniques.
How old is the Umm Arak Plateau rock art?
The ministry said its preliminary assessment divides the Umm Arak Plateau rock art into several time groups. It described the oldest group as the red ceiling drawings, with a tentative date range between 10,000 and 5,500 BCE.
Other reporting based on the same ministry statement describes later engravings of hunters using bows, sometimes shown with hunting dogs, along with camel and horse riders and early Arabic inscriptions. The ministry’s emphasis, however, is on the layered record at a single shelter rather than a single “moment” in time.
Evidence of repeated human use
Dr. Hisham Hussein, who led the mission in the ministry’s account, said documentation inside the shelter found large amounts of animal droppings. Officials said that points to later reuse as a refuge for people and livestock during rain, storms, and cold weather.
The mission also recorded stone partitions that formed separate living units, with traces of burning in the center of some areas, which officials said indicates repeated activity over successive periods. The wider survey found flint tools and many pottery sherds, the ministry said, suggesting some ceramics may date to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom while others were attributed to the Roman period, including the third century CE.
What happens next
El-Leithy said scientific study and analysis of the Umm Arak Plateau rock art will continue, with the aim of building an integrated plan for protection and sustainable documentation. That matters because exposed rock surfaces can be damaged quickly by unregulated visitation, weathering, and vandalism.
For now, the ministry’s announcement is centered on documentation rather than opening the area to mass tourism. Any future visitor access to the Umm Arak Plateau rock art site would likely depend on the protection plan and on-site management measures that keep the images and deposits intact.
Why this discovery matters
For researchers, the ministry argues the Umm Arak Plateau rock art site offers an unusually long sequence of imagery and use in a single place, spanning from early prehistory into historical eras. For South Sinai, the Umm Arak Plateau rock art announcement also signals a tourism opportunity that comes with a conservation obligation: drawing visitors without turning a delicate shelter into a damaged one.
Egypt has increasingly highlighted Sinai’s archaeological and cultural landscapes alongside its better-known monumental sites. The Umm Arak Plateau rock art site adds a new data point to that effort, and sets up the next question the ministry says it is now tackling: how to turn documentation into durable protection on the ground.