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unexplored. True, some archaeological research has taken place in and around the five major oases, but few, if any, explorations have been carried out in the deep desert or in that distant southwestern corner. This is especially the case for the two highland regions known as Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uwainat. These are composed of giant, rocky massifs that act as a natural barrier to Egypt’s southwest frontier corner with Sudan and Libya. These almost surreal “Alps of the desert” emerge from the surrounding flat landscape like giant icebergs in a still ocean, and in daytime they loom in the haze like eerie mirages that can taunt, daunt, and terrify the most intrepid or placid of travelers.
    As odd as it may seem, especially given our perspective of today’s amazing technological advances in communication, no one in modern times knew of the existence of Gilf Kebir or Jebel Uwainat until the early 1920s—or so it seemed, as we will see in chapter 2. The abnormally belated discovery of Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uwainat coupled with their remoteness and the harsh and extremely inhospitable climate of the region are the main reasons for the almost nonexistent archaeological exploration there. In addition, there has been a strange disinterest by Egyptologists who have insisted that it was impossible for the ancient Egyptians of the Nile Valley to have reached these faraway places through vast distances of open and waterless desert. Nonetheless, this belief is somewhat odd, because it has been known since 1923 that Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uwainat were once inhabited by a prehistoric people who left evidence of their presence there in an abundance of rock art on ledges and in caves and in the many
wadis
(valleys) skirting the massifs. Perhaps the greatest mystery of these strange places was that, in spite of the plentiful rock art and stone artifacts that attest to human presence, no actual human remains or even empty tombs have so far been found there. This was also the case at Nabta Playa.
    The question surely begs asking: Were Gilf Kebir, Jebel Uwainat, and Nabta Playa not places of permanent habitation but outposts for people who moved from place to place and who had their home base elsewhere? For example, could the people of Nabta Playa, with their mysterious megalithic legacy, be the same people of Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uwainat, with their puzzling rock art legacy? If so, then how could such people traveling on foot—or, at best, on donkey—across such vast distances (there are 580 kilometers—about 360 miles—between Nabta Playa and the Gilf Kebir–Jebel Uwainat regions) in this totally waterless desert?
    Before we attempt to answer such questions, we must look at an interesting and possibly very relevant geographical fact: Nabta Playa and the Gilf Kebir–Jebel Uwainat area are almost on the same east–west line that runs just north of latitude 22.5 degrees north, forming a sort of natural highway between the Nile Valley, Nabta Playa, and, at its western end, Gilf Kebir and Jebel Uwainat. From a directional viewpoint, then, ancient travelers would easily have known how to journey to such distant locations simply by moving due east or due west—a direction that can be determined by the sun’s shadow. Knowing, however, in which direction to move is one thing; making the long journey to an end point is quite another. Such a long stretch of desert crossing is impossible on foot or on a donkey unless there are watering holes or wells along the way. Yet there are no wells or surface water in this stretch of desert between Nabta Playa and Gilf Kebir, only bone-dry sand, dust, and rocks. Nothing can survive in this wasteland without adequate sources of water. Indeed, that Jebel Uwainat and Gilf Kebir were discovered so late shows how problematic it is to reach these regions without motorized four-wheel-drive vehicles that are fully equipped for rough terrain.
    Because of this, as well as the