Today, the desert around Wadi el Malik in southern Egypt appears empty and lifeless.
But carved into the rocky cliffs are hundreds of ancient images—silent witnesses to the birth of one of the world’s first great states.
More than 5,000 years ago, before the age of the pharaohs, rulers here used rock art to assert their power, display violence, and link themselves to the gods.
One of the most mysterious rulers of this early period was known as Scorpion.
His name, carved alongside some of the earliest known hieroglyphs, appears in an inscription that reads “Domain of the Horus King Scorpion.”
Egyptologist Professor Ludwig Morenz of the University of Bonn believes this inscription may be the world’s oldest known place name. Scorpion, like other early rulers, portrayed himself both as a divine representative and a fearsome conqueror.
Morenz, working with Egyptian scholar Mohamed Abdelhay Abu Bakr, has recently published new findings in a book that explores how these rulers visualized their sovereignty.
The carvings, found on the periphery of the Nile Valley east of Aswan, date from the late fourth millennium BC—the same period when Egypt was forming into the world’s first territorial state, stretching some 800 kilometers along the Nile.
The rock art in Wadi el Malik forms what Morenz calls a “royal tableau.” Several rulers are represented, their names linked to animal symbols that conveyed danger and authority. Among them are King Horus-Falcon, King Bull, and even a ruler named Scolopendra, after the venomous centipede.
These striking images suggest that rulers deliberately chose fierce animal identities to project dominance.
But the most dramatic carvings show scenes of violence. One newly studied image depicts a ruler trampling a fallen enemy while two decapitated heads are shown in the background. Such brutal displays were not just propaganda—they were part of the ideology of kingship. By carving themselves as invincible figures towering over defeated enemies, rulers demonstrated their right to control both land and people.
Religion also played a central role. Scorpion and his contemporaries linked themselves with divine figures such as Bat, the celestial cow goddess, and Min, a fertility and hunting god. Together, they symbolized the fertile Nile Valley and the dangerous desert edges, uniting the land under divine protection.
Another large carving shows a “boat of the gods,” pulled by 25 men, which likely represented sacred processions connecting the Nile with the desert hinterlands.
To better study these fragile carvings, researchers used advanced digital imaging, compiling hundreds of photographs taken from different angles to reveal details invisible to the naked eye.
These methods have uncovered new inscriptions and clarified older ones, showing just how complex and deliberate this early “pharaoh-fashioning” was.
Morenz believes this region is vital for understanding how the Egyptian state emerged on the cultural edges of the Nile Valley. While much is known about Egypt’s great centers, far less is understood about its peripheries, where the earliest expressions of kingship were carved into stone.
“These carvings are more than art,” Morenz explains. “They are part of a larger work that integrates images, text, and landscape to express power.” He hopes that further archaeological projects will explore the area in depth, and that one day visitors might be able to experience this remarkable site with guided tours and a visitor center.
What survives in the desert today tells us not only about forgotten rulers like Scorpion but also about the very beginnings of the pharaonic tradition: the fusion of divine authority, violent imagery, and grand display that would shape Egypt for millennia.
Source: University of Bonn.
