Desert Migrations Project XVII: Further AMS Dates for Historic Settlements from Fazzan, South-West Libya

Sterry, Martin; Mattingly, David

doi:10.1017/s0263718900009729

Cited by 31 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The size of the Garamantian settlement cannot be determined with any precision, but we would expect that it was located next to the fortified building (qaṣr) ZUL004, which is probably Garamantian. Such fortified structures within settlements are characteristic of the Late Garamantian era Sterry and Mattingly 2013). We cannot distinguish at present whether Zuwīla was a large village or a town in its own right (as we suspect).…”

Section: The Garamantian Eramentioning

confidence: 84%

“…The origins of the oasis settlement at Zuwīla can confidently be placed in the Classic Garamantian era, in light of numerous finds of imported Roman pottery dating to the first few centuries AD. There are no certain ceramics of the Proto-Urban Garamantian period (500-1 BC), something that is also characteristic of the Murzuq area, where the main development of oases appears to fall in the Classic and Late Garamantian eras (Sterry et al 2012;Sterry and Mattingly 2013). A small fragment of a Hellenistic eye-bead reported by Daniels in his unpublished notes on the site could have been long curated before its deposition at the site.…”

Section: The Archaeology Of Zuwīlamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The origins and development of Zuwīla, Libyan Sahara: an archaeological and historical overview of an ancient oasis town and caravan centre

Mattingly

Sterry

Edwards

2015

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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Section: The Garamantian Eramentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: The Archaeology Of Zuwīlamentioning

confidence: 99%

The origins and development of Zuwīla, Libyan Sahara: an archaeological and historical overview of an ancient oasis town and caravan centre

Mattingly

Sterry

Edwards

2015

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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“…The AMS dating programme has proved an effective way to demonstrate the chronological sequence of the sites recorded. This also adds to the growing corpus of dates from proto-historica and historic structures across the Sahara which are transforming our understanding of oasis settlement and agriculture (see for example, Mattingly 2007;2010;2013;Sterry et al 2012;Sterry & Mattingly 2013).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term History in a Moroccan Oasis Zone: The Middle Draa Project 2015

Mattingly

Bokbot

Sterry

et al. 2017

JAA

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This article describes the research questions and presents the initial AMS dates of the Middle Draa Project (southern Morocco), a collaborative field survey project between the University of Leicester and the Institut National des Sciences de l' Archéologie et du Patrimoine (INSAP) of Morocco. Starting from a very low baseline of past archaeological research in this pre-desert valley, the overall objective of the project is to establish the extent, character and chronology of the rich archaeology of the Wadi Draa. The results presented here detail a hitherto unknown phase of major occupation in the Draa in the 4th-6th centuries AD evidenced by complex hilltop settlements and extensive cairn cemeteries (an initial typology is presented). A second medieval phase comprised major urban centres that are contemporary with the Almoravid and Almohad periods of Moroccan history. Alongside these urban centres, there are the remains of substantial mudbrick oasis settlements and irrigation and field-systems of a contemporary date. A key contribution of this paper concerns the construction of an outline chronology based upon initial analysis of the ceramics collected, but crucially supplemented and supported by a major program of AMS dating. The remote sensing and field survey data collected by the project enable us to develop some hypotheses concerning the long-term history of this important oasis valley.

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“…See also Meunié 1951, on the Moroccan parallels. 26 See for instance the programme of dating qsur in the Garamantian territory, Mattingly 2003;Sterry and Mattingly 2013;Sterry et al 2012. 27 For general discussions of the phenomenon of fortified rural sites, see Barker et al 1996a, 326-31;Brett and Fentress 1996, 67-76;Mattingly 1995, 202-09;Modéran 2003, 251-78;Sarantis 2013, 303-04;Trousset 1974, 133-39. For this reason, we have in general avoided the application of Latin terms to particular forms and have concentrated more on formal morphological criteria.…”

Section: Morphology Of Late Antique Fortified Rural Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For distribution see also , Goodchild 1954a;Talbert 2000, Map 35. 78 These sites are being catalogued as part of the Trans-Sahara Project, but see Mattingly 2003; for the work of the Fazzan Project in the Wadi al-Ajal and on the Murzuq/Hofra basin: Sterry and Mattingly 2011;Sterry et al 2012;Sterry and Mattingly 2013. medieval in date 79 , solid dating evidence (see below) shows that they were predominantly constructed in late antiquity. These must therefore be considered as part of the same phenomenon of rural fortification found across Roman North Africa and the Roman empire in general.…”

Section: Fazzan (Fig 11)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fortified farms and defended villages of Late Roman and Late Antique Africa

Mattingly¹,

Sterry²,

Leitch³

2013

Antiquité Tardive

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Les fermes fortifiées et les autres sites pareillement défendus marquaient les paysages de l'Afrique du Nord au cours de l'Antiquité Tardive. Leur présence a été relevée dans toutes les provinces romaines de l'Afrique du Nord, même dans les zones au-delà des frontières, comme le coeur de la contrée des Garamantes dans le Fezzan (Sud-Ouest de la Libye). Huit types de fortifications sont ici définis afin de servir de base à un réexamen de la diffusion des fortifications rurales publiées à la suite des principales prospections archéologiques conduites dans ces régions. On constate de nettes prédominances régionales (par exemple les villages fortifiés en Numidie, les temples et mausolées convertis en maisons carrées dans la steppe tunisienne et les églises fortifiées en Cyrénaïque). Toutefois, dans presque tous les régions, les sites fortifiés jouent un rôle essentiel dans le hiérarchie des établissements . En Tripolitaine et au Fezzan, par exemple, ces sites fortifiés sont majoritaires. Les constructions le plus précoces sont datées du 2e siècle après J.-C. et leur occupation a continué jusqu'à l'époque islamique, mais, en Libye au moins, le pic des constructions se situe au cours du 4e siècle. Bien que certains sites fortifiés s'inspirent de modèles militaires, on soutient l'hypothèse que loin d'être stimulé par l'armée romaine, ce phénomène de protection doit être interprété dans un contexte de faiblesse de l'autorité centrale et d'essor de l'indépendance régionale.Fortified farms and other fortified sites were a key component of the Late Antique landscapes of North Africa. Their presence has been noted in all the Roman provinces in North Africa and in areas beyond the frontier such as the Garamantian heartlands of Fazzan (south-west Libya). Eight broad morphological types are proposed and are the basis for a review of the distribution of rural fortifications from all major archaeological surveys. There are strong regional preferences (e.g. fortified villages in Numidia, temples and mausolea converted into block houses in the Tunisian steppe and fortified churches in Cyrenaica). However, in almost all areas fortified sites were important elements in the settlement hierarchy and in Tripolitania and Fazzan, for instance, they were the dominant settlement form. The earliest constructions have been dated to the 2nd century AD and their development continued into the Islamic period, but. In Libya at least, there was a peak in construction in the 4th century. Although some of the types of fortified site seem to follow military models, It is suggested that rather than simple emulation of the Roman army, these fortifications should be seen in the context of a weakening central authority and growing regional independence.

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Desert Migrations Project XVII: Further AMS Dates for Historic Settlements from Fazzan, South-West Libya

Cited by 31 publications

References 16 publications

The origins and development of Zuwīla, Libyan Sahara: an archaeological and historical overview of an ancient oasis town and caravan centre

The origins and development of Zuwīla, Libyan Sahara: an archaeological and historical overview of an ancient oasis town and caravan centre

Long-term History in a Moroccan Oasis Zone: The Middle Draa Project 2015

Fortified farms and defended villages of Late Roman and Late Antique Africa

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