Also found nearby were carvings of a ship, obliterated names of the pharaohs and two depictions of the Egyptian goddess Min.
Archaeologists have discovered 5,000-year-old stone carvings in Wadi Kamila, a dry valley in southwestern Sinai, depicting ancient Egypt’s conquest of the region, the University of Bologna said in a statement on Tuesday.
The carvings, which were first discovered by Egyptian archaeologist Mustafa Nour El-Din during an “exploratory trip” to the area, feature a large man with arms raised high and another kneeling figure with an arrow piercing his chest.
The carvings were later interpreted by Egyptologist Professor Dr. Ludwig Morenz.
According to Morenz, the “fearful Egyptian standing in a victor’s pose before the kneeling, wounded Sinai” depicts the conquest and subjugation of the natives by the ancient Egyptians.
Morenz said that while some ancient Egyptian stone carvings have been found in other dry valleys in the Sinai Peninsula, the discovery of evidence of ancient Egypt 5,000 years ago in the Wadi Kamila area “suggests that the Egyptians had some kind of colonial network.”
Stone carvings discovered on January 31, 2026 in Wadi al-Kamila in the Sinai Desert are believed to depict the ancient Egyptian conquest of the region. (Image credit: M. Nour El-Din)
“In the southwestern part of the Sinai Peninsula we can find economically driven colonization using images and inscriptions, some of which are more than 5,000 years old,” Morenz explains. He notes that this Wadi Camilla carving is “one of the oldest known killing scenes to be accompanied by an inscription.”
There are more carvings in the area
A carving of a ship was also found next to the murder scene.
According to a study of the carvings published by El-Din and Morenz in the 2025 edition of the journal Blätter Abraham, a name, possibly that of the pharaoh, was once carved near the ship’s carvings, but was later deliberately erased. But who removed the name, when and why was unclear.
An inscription also found nearby described the Egyptian god as “the divine protector of the Egyptians beyond the Nile Valley,” the study said.
Erdin later discovered a second Myojin statue in Wadi Camilla.
Both Elding and Morenz believe that “many more petroglyphs” can be found in the area, noting that “research has just begun and we are planning the first larger campaign.”
