The epigraphic remains in the Western Desert hinterland of the modern town of Qamûla cluster in six major sites.1 The rock art and inscription sites, and the environs of those sites, are now guarded by watchmen established by the Theban Desert Road Survey, in cooperation with the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities. Though relatively few in number, these inscriptions are worthy occupants of the southwestern hinterland of the ancient city of Naqada and the western hinterland of the Ombite home of the chaotic god Seth. The major groupings of inscriptions are (I) the rock shrine of Paḥu and (II) the inscriptions of Gebel Akhenaton; three collections of inscriptions near the Arqub Baghla pass (III); several concentrations of inscriptions of the Wadi Magar to the north (IV); and finally (V) the inscriptions on and near the Matna el- Barqa hill. 1 This online presentation is a summary derived from J.C. Darnell, Theban Desert Road Survey II: The Rock Shrine of Paḥu, Gebel Akhenaton, and Other Rock Inscriptions from the Western Hinterland of Qamûla, Yale Egyptological Publications 1, in press. The rock inscriptions associated with a monastic site in an isolated branch of the Wadi Arqub el-Baghla will be treated separately (publication forthcoming).
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