'Humps in the road' sign ...from 12,000 years ago

THIS 12,000-year-old cave engraving of a camel was an early "road sign" that led to a desert oasis, research shows.

- By Stephen Beech

Scientists found more than 60 rock art panels with 176 etchings at three sites on the edge of the Nafud desert in northern Saudi Arabia.

The figures, including camels, ibex and gazelles, are up to 9ft long and 6ft high.

Researchers date them from 12,800 to 11,400 years ago, when seasonal water sources "reappeared" in the region following extreme drought.