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The ancient Egyptians built their first great monuments in stone beginning with the step pyramid of Djoser about 4,650 years ago. Well before that, around 6,000 years ago, a fine artist working in stone chipped out a carving of a pair of humans hunting an ostrich. One of the people is shown wearing an ostrich mask and the other is holding a bow.
Some rock carvings from prehistory, and they are known around the world through various times, are so sketchily done that it seems like modern archaeologists make guesses as to what the images portray.
But this work of art, discovered near a later necropolis at Aswan’s Qubbet el-Hawa or Hill of the Wind, more closely resembles just that: a work of art, though the elements have worn it down some. It also may have a spiritual theme.
During the time of the pharaohs, the Hill of the Wind had a necropolis for the city of Elephantine’s nobles. This city was situated on the island of Elephantine in the Nile River near Egypt’s southern border, with Nubia, now called the Sudan. This necropolis or cemetery, where officials and nobles were buried in mounds, is believed to have been in operation from 2200 BC to the 4th century BC. The rock carving dates back well before that.
www.Ancient-Origins.net – Reconstructing the story of humanity’s past