The Rock Carvings of the Messak: Monuments in a Changing Landscape

“As time goes by ? ”Monumentality, Landscapes and the Temporal Perspective

edited by

Martin Furholt, Martin Hinz and Doris Mischka

Offprint

KieL archaeology

Maria Guagnin

The Rock Carvings of the Messak: Monuments in a Changing Landscape

2

Universitätsforschungenzur prähistorischen Archäologie

Band 206

Aus der Graduiertenschule“Human Development in Landscapes”

der Universität Kiel

2012

Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn

3

“As time goes by ? ”Monumentality, Landscapes and the Temporal Perspective

Proceedings of the International Workshop “Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the Last 12,000 Years:

The Creation of Landscapes II (14th –18th March 2011)” in Kiel Volume 2

edited by

Martin Furholt, Martin Hinz and Doris Mischka

2012

Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn

4

Gedruckt mit Unterstützung der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

ISBN 978-3-7749-3764-2

Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie.Detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über <http://dnb.d-nb.de> abrufbar.

Umschlagbild: Karin Winter, KielUmschlaggestaltung: Holger Dieterich, Kiel

Layout und Satz: www.wisa-print.de2012 Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn

Redaktion: Joachim von Freeden, Frankfurt a. M.

Englisches Korrektorat: Giles Shephard, Berlin

7

9 Preface

10 The Kiel Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes”

12 Foreword

13 Martin Furholt, Martin Hinz and Doris Mischka “As time goes by” – Meanings, Memories and Monuments

MONUMENTS AND TIME 23 Trevor Watkins Household, Community and Social Landscape: Maintaining Social Mem-

ory in the Early Neolithic of Southwest Asia 45 Martin Hinz Preserving the Past, Building the Future? Concepts of Time and Prehis-

toric Monumental Architecture 61 Emma Cunliffe Modernity, Monumentality and the Moment: A Syrian Case Study

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES, DIVERSE STRATEGIES 73 Joshua Wright Temporal Perspectives on the Monumental Constellations of Inner Asia 85 Manfred Böhme The Recurring Monument. Records on Hafit- and Umm an-Nar Period

Tomb Architecture in the Oman Peninsula 95 Maria Guagnin The Rock Carvings of the Messak: Monuments in a Changing Landscape 105 Kirstin Marx, Christoph Rinne, Monica De Cet, Rainer Duttmann,

Rolf Gabler-Mieck, Wolfgang Hamer, Corinna Kortemeier and Jo-hannes Müller

Geospatial Analysis of Prehistoric Settlement Structures Considering Monumental Architecture on Mallorca

NEOLITHIC AND BRONZE AGE MONUMENTS ON THE NORTHERN EUROPEAN PLAIN

115 Martin Furholt Monuments and Durable Landscapes in the Neolithic of Southern Scandi-

navia and Northern Central Europe

Contents

8

133 Doris Mischka Temporality in the Monumental Landscape of Flintbek 145 Uffe Rasmussen and Henrik Skousen Rituals at Springs during the Early Neolithic in Scandinavia. Non-monu-

mental Ritual Behaviour in a Time of Megalithic Tombs and Causewayed Enclosures

159 Erik Drenth A Note on the Re-use of hunebedden in the Netherlands during the Late

Neolithic 169 Marzena Szmyt and Janusz Czebreszuk Monumental Funeral Sites: Creation, Long-term Use and Re-use in the

Neolithic and the Bronze Age. Case Studies from the Polish Lowland 195 Dariusz Król Some Aspects of Analysis of Sub- and Non-Megalithic Tombs in the South-

eastern Group of Funnel Beaker Culture 205 Dariusz Król, Jakub Rogoziński and Małgorzata Rybicka Tomb of the Funnel Beaker Culture on Site 7 in Skołoszów, Radymno

Commune, Podkarpackie Voivodship 215 Andrzej Pelisiak The Messages – Consigners and Addressees. The Corded Ware Culture

Barrows in the Cultural Landscape of the Eastern Polish Carpathians dur-ing the 3rd and 2nd Millennium bc and the Monumental Structures between the Carpathians and the Baltic Sea in the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age

ROMANISED EUROPE 233 Carsten Mischka A Monument, Lasting Forever ? Big Roman Villae in the Western Vulkan-

eifel as Monumental Complexes through the Times 245 Jana Škundrić The Palace of Felix Romuliana and its Hinterland, a Changing Landscape

from the Bronze Age until the Modern Period 257 Janine Lehmann Loca sacra of the Iberian Peninsula and the Meaning of Monumentality in

Time

Contents

95M. Guagnin, The Rock Carvings of the Messak: Monuments in a Changing Landscape

The Rock Carvings of the Messak: Monuments in a Changing Landscape

Maria Guagnin

Introduction

The Messak rock formation lies in the central Sa-hara, about 1,000 km south of Tripoli in southwest-ern Libya. It is bordered by the Ubari sand sea in the north and the Murzuq sand sea in the south. A number of smaller wadis cut into the Messak from the south and the oasis of the Wadi al-Hayat runs along its northern escarpment (Fig. 1). Thousands of rock art panels have been recorded along these wadis (Barnett 2009; Jelínek 2004; Le Quellec 1998; Lutz 2008; Van Albada / Van Albada 2000).

During the Holocene the climate in the central Sahara underwent dramatic changes. In the Early Holocene the climate was quite wet, with dense savanna vegetation and permanent water sources. Around 6200 bc this wet phase was interrupted by a severe arid spell. Savanna conditions subsequently returned, but during this second wet phase the cli-mate became gradually more arid. Climatic records show an abrupt onset of arid conditions around 3800 bc, while desertification set in around 2500 bc and turned the Sahara into the desert we know to-day (Armitage et al. 2007; Cremaschi 1998; Drake et al. 2006; Drake et al. 2008; Drake et al. 2009). These climate phases largely coincide with the ar-chaeological periods of the region. During the first

wet phase the central Sahara was repopulated by hunter-gatherers who probably had a relatively sed-entary lifestyle around the lakes that had formed (Cremaschi / Di Lernia 1999). Around 6000 bc do-mestic cattle were introduced into the area and the subsistence changed to nomadic cattle pastoralism. The Pastoral periods largely coincide with climatic changes. The Early Pastoral relates to the wettest pe-riod of the Middle Holocene, while the Middle Pas-toral begins around 5000 bc and coincides with the gradual aridification of the area. The Late Pastoral then begins after the onset of arid conditions (Cre-maschi / Di Lernia 1999). Once the lake in the Wadi al-Hayat dried up, groundwater remained close to the surface and between 1000 bc and 700 ad the Gar-amantian kingdom was established in this area with its capital Germa in the oasis of the Wadi al-Hayat (Mattingly et al. 2003).

The concept of a “monument” generally evokes images of large stone structures and monumental architecture. Although the rock art of the Sahara is not a built structure as such, the often life-sized de-pictions of African fauna carved into large natural rock surfaces are of monumental character. The en-gravings are up to 10,000 years old and are there-fore extremely durable and were created over the course of several millennia. Some of the engravings

abstract The engravings of the Messak plateau form part of a monumental landscape that was created over more than 8,000 years. An analysis of this rock art tradition in relation to the archaeological record of the area provides the data to track changes in the symbolism and use of these monuments from the hunter-gatherer societies of the Early Holocene to the mobile pastoralists of the Middle Holocene and finally the urban civilisation of the Garamantian kingdom. The cultural conventions and content of the engravings can be linked to the socio-economic background of the engravers. Moreover, the symbolism of the rock art panels complements that of the burial practices and forms part of a wider belief system which found visible expression in the monuments and in the landscape.

In: M. Furholt / M. Hinz / D. Mischka, “As time goes by?” Monumentality, Landscapes and the Temporal Perspective [Proceedings of the International Workshop “Socio‐Environmen-tal Dynamics over the Last 12,000 Years: The Creation of Landscapes II (14th – 18th March 2011)” in Kiel] (Bonn 2012) 95 – 104.

96 Global Perspectives, Diverse Strategies

have been attributed to hunter-gatherers of the Pre-Pastoral periods (Jelínek 2004). These early carvings include life-sized depictions of wild African fauna, often called the “Bubaline” engravings, which are named after the “type fossil” of this period, the Bubalus antiquus, a now extinct species of buffalo with very large horns. There are also older, archaic engravings, which are often found underneath the “Bubaline” engravings and depict simple arched symbols or animal outlines (Jelínek 2004). The Pas-toral periods are dominated by images of domestic cattle, while during the Garamantian kingdom the engravers primarily depicted small warrior figures, horses and camels (Guagnin 2010).

The chronology of the engravings shows that the rock art tradition of the Messak was long-lived and extended over a number of economic, social and cul-tural transitions. An analysis of the content as well as the representational quality of the images over time

and in relation to the wider archaeological back-ground can place this tradition in context and iden-tify stages in the development and spiritual back-ground of this monumental landscape. Moreover, where individual panels span a number of engrav-ing periods they can be used as a case study to iden-tify whether or not the longevity of the images was intentional or was merely a by-product of the choice of medium. This distinction is essential in order to understand if the act of carving was of primary im-portance or if the durability and preservation of the image formed part of its spiritual function.

Fig. 1. Southwestern Libya. Mountain ranges / high reliefs (dark grey), sand seas (light grey) and oases.


The longevity of the images

An elephant panel from Wadi En Galghewen in the Messak serves as a case study for the longevity of the engravings. Originally, the large naturalistic en-gravings of wild savanna fauna were thought of as a single engraving episode in which the images were executed in smooth, deep lines. But the “Bubaline” tradition actually consists of two separate engraving periods with earlier pecked and later incised images (Jelínek 2004).

Figure 2 shows a rock art panel with two large incised elephants and a number of ostriches. The process of engraving removed the original patina of the rock surface and the red lines are clearly vis-ible against the dark background. A closer inspec-tion also shows an incised baby elephant behind el-ephant 2. It is coated in a much darker patina and is more difficult to see. Near the left end of the panel the pecked tail of another elephant is barely visible because the lines are so heavily weathered and pati-nated. A detailed examination of the panel also re-

veals another large elephant (Fig. 3, elephant 4). Un-like the smooth incised lines of elephants 1 and 2, elephant 4 is pecked in relatively shallow lines. Simi-larly, elephant 3 was initially pecked and the origi-nal lines are still visible underneath the re-engraved and slightly enlarged later image (Fig. 3).

The panel was therefore clearly reworked over a long period of time. Based on the dates established for the patina of the Wadi al-Hayat (Guagnin 2010; see also Cremaschi 1996; Zerboni 2008), the re-engraved, incised lines of elephants 1 and 2 were probably created after 3800 bc. In turn, the smooth lines with the black patina of the reworked elephant 3 were created some time before 5000 bc. It remains unknown how much older the original engraving is. However, on several panels these old pecked lines appear to have been sufficiently weathered and pati-nated that the engravers frequently missed parts or misinterpreted lines. Based on the fact that the older “Bubaline” engravings predate the Pastoral period (they never depict domestic animals and the Bubalus antiquus was extinct around 6000 bc), these engrav-

Fig. 2. Wadi En Galghewen. Elephant panel. The elephant engravings mentioned in the text are marked with numbers (photo M. Guagnin).


ings can be dated prior to 7000 bc (Jelínek 2004; Van Albada / Van Albada 2000). The creation of this panel therefore appears to span part of the Meso-lithic and most of the Pastoral periods.

The slight deviations between the original and the re-engraved lines are important because they document this re-engraving custom and its time depth. They also indicate that the engravers were aware of the age and the durability of the depic-tions. Although we do not know why the engravers frequently chose to re-carve older engravings, this action shows an interest in the past as well as the fu-ture of the images. The symbolism of the images was still relevant when they were being re-carved, and their visibility was enhanced and thereby preserved for the future. It then follows that if the engravers were aware that the images had been there for a long time, they must also have been aware that the lines they engraved themselves would remain visible for a long time. The longevity of the engravings there-fore appears to have been intentional.

The engraving tradition of the Early Pastoral period (6300 – 5400 bc)

The rock art of the Pastoral periods includes the transition from a hunter-gatherer economy to pasto-ralism and from the nomadic lifestyle of the Saharan cattle herders to the urban civilisation of the Gara-mantian kingdom. In addition, the physiognomy of the human figures that can occasionally be identified in rock paintings indicates a migration of Mediter-ranean peoples into the Sahara (see Mattingly et al. 2003 for a good summary). However, it remains un-clear if this change in population represents the ar-rival of a Neolithic / Pastoral population, or relates to the transition from Late Pastoral herding to Ga-ramantian agriculture, or if the arrival of Mediter-ranean people was independent of economic factors.

In the Wadi al-Hayat two patterns involving the content and the representational quality of the carv-ings are visible in the rock art of the Pastoral period. Among the Pastoral engravings cattle were the only frequently depicted domestic animal in the Fezzan

Fig. 3. Wadi En Galghewen. Elephant panel, tracing of elephant 4.


(Guagnin 2010). An analysis of the distribution of Early Pastoral depictions of cattle and wild animals shows a clear spatial divide between the two. Cat-tle were only depicted in the wadi Bouzna whereas carvings of wild animals were created along the rest of the escarpment (Fig. 4). In addition, there is a clear distinction in the representation of wild and domestic animals. The engravings generally depict individual animals. Each animal is drawn different-ly and their unique horn shapes or hide markings can occasionally still be identified in the carvings today. However, during the Early Pastoral period most of the cattle images deviate from this custom. These panels consist of small depictions of almost identical animals which are repeated across the pan-el, similar to the pattern on wallpaper. These carv-ings emphasise the herd, rather than the individual animal and signify a different concept of animal rep-resentation.

The patterns identified in the spatial analysis translate into a spatial divide with “wallpaper” de-pictions of domestic cattle in one part of the wadi and larger depictions of individual wild animals along the rest of the escarpment. These variations may reflect underlying differences in the cultural background of the engravers. In the Early Pastoral period, when animal herding was first established in the area (Cremaschi / Di Lernia 1999), the early herders appear to have created their rock art only in a very localised area of the wadi, while the local

hunter-gatherers continued their engraving tradi-tion throughout the rest of the landscape. In the ab-sence of a more detailed archaeological investigation of the Pastoral period in the area it remains uncer-tain if this division purely relates to the creation of rock art or if it also reflects a division in settlement areas and use of the landscape. However, the pat-tern visible in the rock art does indicate that a new population arrived in the area with the introduction of domestic cattle and they appear to have brought their own rock art tradition with them.

“Wallpaper” engravings

Figure 5 shows a panel with “wallpaper” engrav-ings. Patina and weathering indicate that the entire rock surface was covered with small cattle depictions during the Early Pastoral period. Some time later two larger cattle were superimposed on the panel. This superimposition is quite remarkable, as the en-gravers generally respected older images and rarely engraved over them. The engraving of the large bull was placed over the centre of the panel during the Middle Pastoral period. The lines of this carving roughly follow one of the original larger cattle. The naturalistic outline of this large bull, the polishing of the surface and the depiction of details such as hooves link this depiction to the local “Bubaline” en-

Fig. 4. Wadi al-Hayat. Distribution of cattle and wild animal engravings dur-ing the Early Pastoral period (the grey lines mark the extent of the survey area).

The tributary wadi on the western end of the survey area is Wadi Bouzna.


Fig. 5. Wadi al-Hayat. Panel with “wallpaper” engravings.


graving tradition of the Pre-Pastoral and Early Pas-toral period.

On the panel in Figure 5 the rock art traditions of the local population and the early pastoralists appear to meet. The gradual aridification of the area prob-ably led to a concentration of the population around the remaining water sources, such as the lake in the Wadi al-Hayat. It is possible that this lack of water caused competition over resources and space. In this context the superimposition of the large bull over an earlier “wallpaper” panel could convey the impres-sion of an act of dominance of one tradition over the other.

The Late Pastoral engraving tradition (3800 – 1000 bc)

The spatial distribution of the Late Pastoral engrav-ings (Fig. 6) shows that depictions of domestic cattle and wild animals were engraved on rock surfaces along the entire escarpment of the Wadi al-Hayat. Over time the concentration of the population in a smaller space seems to have led to assimilation in both rock art traditions and the “wallpaper” depic-tions almost disappeared.

Although the arrival of a pastoral population was coupled with the introduction of a new type of animal representation in the area, the indigenous engraving tradition continued into the Late Pasto-ral period and included the re-engraving of ancient

panels (Fig. 2) as well as the creation of new images throughout the landscape (Fig. 6). The rock art of the Messak consequently formed a relatively continu-ous tradition from the Mesolithic to the Late Pas-toral, and absorbed allochthonous representational customs that are visible in a separate engraving tra-dition at the beginning of the Pastoral period.

Pastoral content

An analysis of the content of the Pastoral engrav-ings additionally highlights aspects of the cultural and spiritual background of the engraving tradition. The graph in Figure 7 shows the animal species that were depicted throughout the Pastoral and Gara-mantian periods. The frequency of the different ani-mals identified in the rock art clearly shows that the content of the Pastoral engravings was dominated by depictions of giraffes and domestic cattle. During the Early Pastoral period cattle were the most com-monly depicted animal, which coincided with the custom of engraving animals in wallpaper-like pat-terns. During the Middle Pastoral period this trend was reversed and giraffes became the most frequent species among the animal engravings. Finally, in the Late Pastoral period, cattle dominated the content of the rock art again and the number of giraffe depic-tions decreased.

The timing of the rise in the giraffe depictions coincides with the establishment of a new burial

Fig. 6. Wadi al-Hayat. Distribution of cattle and wild animal engravings during the Late Pastoral period in the Wadi al-Hayat (the grey lines mark the extent of

the survey area).


custom in the area. Around the time of the Middle Pastoral period the local herders began to bury cat-tle in large stone cairns, occasionally with sheep or goat, in a tradition that probably originated in Egypt (Di Lernia 2006). At the beginning of the Late Pas-toral period this custom changed and humans were buried in store cairns instead. The symbolism of the engravings and of the burials appears to be related. During the Early Pastoral period cattle were domi-nant in the rock art, but in the Middle Pastoral when cattle were buried in large stone cairns, giraffes dominated the rock art panels. Finally, in the Late Pastoral period, when the tradition of burying cattle was given up, their symbolism shifted back into the realm of rock art, which is visible in a second peak in the frequency of cattle depictions (Fig. 7). For the mobile pastoral populations of the Sahara burials and engravings were the only way of permanently marking the landscape. The symbolism associated with both customs therefore indicates that rock art and burials form part of a wider belief system which found visible expression in the monuments of the Pastoral population and therefore in their landscape.

Garamantian rock art (1000 bc – ad 700)

The formation of the Garamantian kingdom is as-sociated with dramatic changes in the Fezzan and effectively ended the Pastoral engraving tradition. The introduction and intensification of agriculture was based on labour intensive foggara irrigation and supported a substantial demographic expansion and the establishment of urban centres. The architecture of the Garamantian capital, Garama, was probably

inspired by contact and trade with the Roman Em-pire and included substantial temples and public buildings which were built of dressed stone. Horses, camels and wheeled transport were introduced into the area and the Garamantes also adopted writing and practised iron and copper metallurgy (Matting-ly et al. 2003).

Where the rock art is concerned, the beginning of the Garamantian period coincided with a dramatic decline in the amount of engravings and the imagery mainly consisted of small stick animals, human fig-ures and writing. Naturalistic and larger depictions completely disappeared from the record. This shift in the rock art tradition may relate to the fact that the new urban centres of the Garamantian kingdom had their own monumentality and created a different use of the landscape. The substantial architecture of the Garamantian settlements marked the landscape of the Wadi al-Hayat while at the same time funer-ary practices led to the construction of some tens of thousands of burial cairns along the slopes of the es-carpment. Cities and stone monuments formed per-manent markers in the landscape and constituted a new kind of monumentality which may have ulti-mately made the creation of engravings obsolete.

Conclusion

Collectively, the content and form of the rock art, as well as its distribution and archaeological context, can shed light on the evolution and function of this ancient monumental landscape. The rock art of the Messak appears to be intended to last. After the ini-tial images were carved people continued to relate to them for several millennia, re-engraving ancient rock art panels and continuously creating new im-ages. This tradition continued over more than 7,000 years, from the Mesolithic to the Late Pastoral pe-riod. It was sustained across a change in subsistence and dramatic changes in the climate as well as in the landscape, and even absorbed representational cus-toms that were introduced into the area at the begin-ning of the Pastoral period. We can trace a number of changes in symbolism across this rock art tradi-tion which also appears to complement that of the burials. The archaeological context of the funerary tradition therefore links the images to a wider be-lief system that found expression in the monumen-tal landscapes of the Pastoral populations. Although this symbolism had an influence on the content of the images it did not affect the custom of marking the landscape with carved images. The rock art tra-

Fig. 7. Wadi al-Hayat. Percentage of animals engraved during each period (for animals with more than 30 depic-

tions).


dition only came to an end when people began to settle in urban centres. The large stone structures of the Garamantian architecture and burials seem to have eliminated the need to mark naturally occur-ring stone surfaces in the landscape.

While the archaeological context is usually re-searched separately from the rock art, this study shows that the engravings of the Messak form an important element of the monumentality of the area. Although the images cannot be dated with the same precision as other artefacts, a simple grouping into major archaeological periods can already contribute significantly to our understanding and interpre-

tation of the past. The longevity of the engraving tradition allows us to trace developments in monu-mentality and spiritual background over time and complements archaeological narratives of economic, social and cultural change.

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Maria GuagninFirst Floor Flat

22 Cadogan RoadSurbitonKT6 4DJ

United [email protected]

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