Libya's archaeological heritage is under serious threat, not only because of recent conflict, but also due to other factors such as urban expansion, agricultural development, natural resource prospection, vandalism, looting and natural deterioration. The Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa Project (EAMENA) has developed a database and methodology using remote sensing and other techniques to rapidly document archaeological sites and any disturbances and threats to them in Libya and across the MENA region. This paper will demonstrate this methodology and highlight the various types of disturbances and threats affecting the archaeology of Libya, concentrating on four case studies in different areas of the country, including the coastal plain around Zliten, a section of the Wadi Sofeggin in the pre-desert, and the desert oases of Jufra and Murzuq.
This paper introduces the Cyrenaica Coastal Survey (CCS), a collaborative project between the Maritime Endangered Archaeology project and the Department of Antiquities (DoA) Cyrenaica in partnership with the Universities of Al Bayda and Benghazi in Libya. Since the Arab Spring in 2011 and the subsequent civil unrest in Libya, heritage professionals, the DoA, and various individuals interested in heritage have struggled to safeguard heritage sites across the country, as policies and laws that protected archaeological sites were no longer reinforced and adhered to in the wake of the revolution. This lack of finances, capacity, and governmental support led to an unprecedented loss of archaeological sites since 2011. The CCS survey records the current condition of maritime sites along the Cyrenaican coast. The project focuses on the smaller, lesser known, coastal heritage sites that are not as well studied as the much larger classical period port towns of Apollonia, Tocra, or Ptolemais. This article will focus on the results of the first phase of the project between ancient Phycus (modern Zawiet el-Hamama) and Kainopolis (modern Al-Ogla). The results of the first stage of the Cyrenaica Coastal Survey provides a snapshot of the damages and threats that coastal heritage faces in Libya, most notably (often unregulated) building activities, clearance, sand mining, and coastal erosion. Furthermore, this article highlights the importance of remote collaboration between UK institutions, in-country partners, and heritage authorities, especially in countries where the discipline of maritime archaeology has been established more recently.
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