Ancient camel engraving was one of world’s first ‘road signs’

By Stephen Beech

A 12,000-year-old cave engraving of a camel was one of the first "road signs" to a desert oasis, according to new research.

The role of the ancient rock art, found in present-day Saudi Arabia, was identified by an international research team, including archaeologists from University College London (UCL).

The team discovered more than 60 rock art panels containing 176 engravings in three previously unexplored areas – Jebel Arnaan, Jebel Mleiha, and Jebel Misma – along the southern edge of the Nefud Desert in northern Saudi Arabia.

The engravings - mainly depicting camels, ibex, equids, gazelles, and aurochs - include 130 life-sized and naturalistic figures, some measuring up to three meters (9.8ft) long and more than two meters (6.5ft) high.

The researchers say the rock art dates to between 12,800 and 11,400 years ago, a period when seasonal water bodies "reappeared" in the region following extreme aridity.

They explained that the water sources, confirmed through sediment analysis, supported early human expansions into the desert interior and offered "rare" opportunities for survival.

Study lead author Dr. Maria Guagnin, from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Germany, said: “These large engravings are not just rock art – they were probably statements of presence, access, and cultural identity."

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Co-lead author Dr. Ceri Shipton, from UCL's Institute of Archaeology, said: “The rock art marks water sources and movement routes, possibly signifying territorial rights and intergenerational memory.”

Unlike previously known sites where engravings were hidden in crevices, the researchers say the Jebel Mleiha and the Jebel Arnaan panels were etched onto towering cliff faces - some up to 39 meters (128ft) high, in "visually commanding" locations.

Dr. Shipton said one panel would have required ancient artists to climb and work "precariously" on narrow ledges, underscoring the sheer effort and significance of the imagery.

She says artifacts, including Levantine-style El Khiam and Helwan stone points, green pigment, and dentalium beads, suggest long-distance connections to Pre-Pottery Neolithic populations in the Levant region.

But the scale, content, and placement of the Arabian engravings set them apart.

The research team says their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications and part of the Green Arabia project, highlight the pioneering role of human groups who lived in the interior of northern Arabia shortly after the hyper-arid conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).

Dr. Faisal Al-Jibreen, from the Heritage Commission, Saudi Ministry of Culture, said: “This unique form of symbolic expression belongs to a distinct cultural identity adapted to life in a challenging, arid environment."

Prof Michael Petraglia, from Griffith University, Australia and leader of the Green Arabia project, added: “The project’s interdisciplinary approach has begun to fill a critical gap in the archaeological record of northern Arabia between the LGM and the Holocene, shedding light on the resilience and innovation of early desert communities."