Prehistoric workshops and stone tools found in Egypt: photos | Miami Herald

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Prehistoric workshops — with axes and other stone artifacts — found in Egypt.

By Aspen Pflughoeft

Updated April 04, 2024 11:42 AM

Archaeologists surveying a desert region in Egypt found several ancient workshops filled with Stone Age artifacts, a study said and photos show. Photo from Leplongeon, Bailly and Graff (2024)

Scanning the desert landscape of southern Egypt, archaeologists kept their eyes peeled for any rocks that looked shaped, chipped or tampered with in some way. They were searching for traces of prehistoric life.

And they weren't disappointed.

Researchers visited an inland desert area known as Wadi Abu Subeira for an archaeological survey in 2022, according to a study published March 27 in the peer-reviewed journal Antiquity. Previous archaeologists had found traces of prehistoric life in the area, but these visits were few and far between.

During their survey, archaeologists located dozens of artifacts and sites from the Stone Age, the study said.

An ancient cleaver (A, B) and ax (C, D) found in Wadi Abu Subeira. Photos from Leplongeon, Bailly and Graff (2024)

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Photos show the prehistoric discoveries. A stone cleaver appears dark gray-brown and rectangular. Another artifact, identified by archaeologists as a "large" handax, has a teardrop shop with chip marks around its edge.

Archaeologists also found five Stone Age workshops where different types of rock were shaped into tools, the study said.

One prehistoric workshop was located on an outcropping of sandstone. Archaeologists found "large flakes" left from working the stones, "several handaxes" and some partially made tools. Photos show some of these ancient artifacts.

One of the Stone Age workshops found in Wadi Abu Subeira. Photo from Leplongeon, Bailly and Graff (2024)

At another workshop site, archaeologists found rock cores, points and other flakes left from the knapping process. Photos show the stone artifacts scattered around the ancient site.

Archaeologists attributed all the finds to the Earlier or Middle Stone Age but did not specify an exact age.

The Middle Stone Age is a loosely defined prehistoric period, according to Oxford Research Encyclopedia. The period began roughly 300,000 years ago and continued until about 20,000 years ago.

Another prehistoric workshop and related artifacts found in Wadi Abu Subeira. Photo from Leplongeon, Bailly and Graff (2024)

Taken together, archaeologists said "the workshops likely represent repeated episodes of exploitation of the outcrops over a long timespan" and show how ancient humans had "well-developed knowledge of the environment in this part of the desert."

Wadi Abu Subeira is a desert region near Aswan, a city about 600 miles south of Cairo.

The research team included Alice Leplongeon, Maxence Bailly and Gwenola Graff.

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