In an 1878 report to the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain, Johann Maria Hildebrandt noted upon visiting the area that "we know from ancient authors that these districts, at present so desert, were formerly populous and civilised[...] I also discovered ancient ruins and rock-inscriptions both in pictures and characters[...] These have hitherto not been deciphered." These etchings are found together with paintings, which are estimated to be 2,500 years old.