bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Funeral Offering near Euesperides
Authors: Wright G. R. H.
Published: February 2016

Immediately following the conclusion of the Ashmolean Excavations at Euesperides (Spring 1954) investigations were made at a locality c. 1 km to the south of the site and close by the (then) modern road to Benina Airport in order to determine possible survivals of undisturbed burials in a region long known as an ancient cemetery area. These investigations immediately lighted on an interesting deposit of pottery and terracotta jewellery from the later part of the fourth century BC. The deposit was placed on the rock floor in front of a cutting which had produced a vertical face c. 1 m high. Yet although a flat stone had been set against the rock face no chamber had been cut into the scarp, and no evidence of funerary practice survived in the area excavated.

Editor's Note: this short paper is printed purely as a salvage operation concerning an exploratory sondage carried out in 1954 and written up at that time. It was handed over for publication by the author in Athens to Llewellyn Brown of the Ashmolean Museum, but never actually appeared; the original text, together with photographs and drawings of the objects, cannot now be found: possibly with this publication they may be identified. Mr Wright is one of the few people now living who was involved in archaeological work in Libya at that period, and even in its largely unillustrated form it would be unfortunate to entirely lose the 1954 record printed below.
Preliminary report on fieldwork at Euesperides (Benghazi) in October 1994
Authors: Hayes Peter P. , Mattingly David J.
Published: February 2016

In October 1994, a small Anglo-Libyan team carried out a short field season on the site of Euesperides in the suburbs of Benghazi. The work was intended as the prelude to the renewal of excavation and more detailed investigation of this important Greco-Libyan town of the sixth to third century BC. Through selective recording of trenches dug recently by the Department of Antiquties on the north side of the site and of exposed sections in a redevelopment site close by, some important data on the nature of activity in this area has been gained. Palaeobotanical samples from these trenches have also yielded significant new information. In addition, surface collection of artefacts from the hill of Sidi Abeid and the northern part of the site will provide an opportunity to assess the phasing and zoning of Euesperides. Finally, a new theodolite survey of the site in its modern urban context demonstrates all too clearly the degradation of the ancient city in the face of intense modern development since the 1950s.
The Politics of Geography and the Italian Occupation of Libya
Authors: Atkinson David
Published: February 2016

This article adopts a broad view of geography to examine some of the roles which geographical knowledges, of various kinds, played in constituting Libya in the Italian geographical imagination. After problematising geography as a situated form of knowledge with a long tradition of pro-imperial activities, it considers some of the ways in which geographical discourses laid the foundations for Italian imperialism in Libya. In particular the article considers how Italian geography played a crucial role in the ‘colonial science’ by which Fascist Italy attempted symbolically and intellectually to capture Libya and recast it as a controlled, knowable colonial domain.
Lepcis Magna Excavations Autumn 1995: report on surveying, archaeology and pottery
Authors: Walda H. M.
Published: February 2016

Excavation continued on the peristyle house encountered in the previous seasons, and new areas were opened. Late period walls of inferior workmanship were encountered in various places, many of which had collapsed on to the occupation levels. The water supply of the house was examined and consisted of a deep well and two very large cisterns; a small room appeared to be a private lavatory. Pottery and coins suggest a main occupation of the fourth and fifth centuries, with very little from later on. First- and possibly second-century pottery was found in one place, but the lack of definite second- and third-century pottery may indicate a gap in occupation. Detailed study of the pottery was made, and many artefacts, including coins, beads, glass, gems and bronzes were found. Environmental evidence was collected and an experimental trial was made of a 3D recording system, using EDM readings in conjunction with the project's CAD programme. The excavation of a substantial private house in a city known almost entirely for its public architecture is proving to be a very exciting and worthwhile project, and future work in earlier levels is anticipated with great interest.
‘Marmaric’ wares: some preliminary remarks
Authors: Hulin Linda
Published: February 2016

This paper presents some information on Libyan pottery from Marmarica, based on the results of recent fieldwork in the vicinity of Marsa Matruh and Zawiyet umm-el Rakham. The local coarsewares are hard to date, but some New Kingdom period sherds can be identified. In the Graeco-Roman periods shell-tempered wares are found, in the form of a bag-shaped jar, production of which continues until at least the 7th century AD, to judge from the association of some of these sherds with amphorae of Riley's type Late Roman 13.
New perspectives on distant horizons: aspects of Egyptian imperial administration in Marmarica in the Late Bronze Age
Authors: Snape Steven
Published: February 2016

This article discusses some of the results of the fieldwork which has been carried out since 1994 by Liverpool University at the site of Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham (Mersa Matruh). In particular it concentrates on how the epigraphic and archaeological evidence recovered from this Ramesside fortress-town has produced new insights into Egypto-Libyan relations, and especially how Egypt operated its short-lived imperial administration of the Marmarican coast during the Late Bronze Age. Egyptian inscriptional evidence from the fortress names the specific Libyan groups against which it was directed, while adding to the debate regarding the areas of operation of these groups by locating itself within “Tjemeh-Land”. Both inscriptional and archaeological evidence indicate that Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham was intended to be, and became, a major fortress-town like those known from Egypt's Nubian and Levantine empire. Evidence for food-processing and the production of linen cloth makes it clear that Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham was largely self-sufficient rather than being reliant on supplies from the Nile Valley. However, this self-sufficiency could only be maintained with the goodwill of local Libyan groups, suggesting some level of economic symbiosis between those groups and the fortress' garrison. On a wider level, the desire to protect Egyptian economic interests, in particular international maritime trade routes, was undoubtedly a major factor behind the construction of this (and other) fortresses on the Mediterranean coast during the reign of Ramesses II.

Finds of significant quantities of foreign (Canaanite, Aegean, Cypriote) material at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham are a clear indicator of this role, while it is suggested that the Libyan groups against whom this trade route needed to be protected were not the ‘local’ Tjehenu and Tjemeh Libyans but the newly-appeared Meshwesh and Libu.
La città dei re di Cirene
Authors: Presicce Claudio Parisi
Published: February 2016

It is becoming increasingly clear that, beginning from the Late Bronze age, links between the Aegean world and the North African coast remained unbroken except perhaps for a brief interlude immediately after the foundation of the Phoenician colonies in the area between the Gulf of Syrte and what is now Tunisia. The example of Cyrene, which has not received the attention it merits outside the narrow circle of Libyan experts, is one of the most clear-cut and eloquent. Even though the paucity of finds and their provenance from infill call for caution, reanalysis of the archaeological record—which has recently gained an important new component—sheds fresh light on the Phoenician colonial process as a whole. The reanalysis, whatever one's point of view, should not be restricted by conventional chronology, and should encourage us to reconsider other accepted ideas about the growth of the original settlement and the links between the Battiad royal family and other members of the Cyrenaican community.
Greek and Roman sculpture and inscriptions from Cyrene: recent joins and proposed associations, including a ‘new” private portrait statue, and some recent epigraphic discoveries
Authors: Adams Neil
Published: February 2016

This article presents a number of joins and associations recently made in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum on sculpture excavated by Robert Murdoch Smith and Edwin Augustus Porcher during their expedition to Cyrene in 1861. The connections were made during an on-going programme within the Greek and Roman Department to provenance and, wherever possible, join the large collection of fragmentary sculpture originating from the big excavations of the 19th century. In addition, some tentative associations between sculpture in the British Museum and others still at Cyrene will be proposed, and some recent epigraphic discoveries made during a visit to the site will also be presented.
Alle sorgenti del Cinyps
Authors: Cifani G. , Munzi M.
Published: February 2016

This paper deals with the location of the springs of the river Cinyps in Tripolitania by comparing literary sources with topographic and archaeological data provided by explorers and by geoarchaeological studies carried out by the University of Rome III mission in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities between 1998 and 2000.

Although the Cinyps may be identified with the drainage basin of Wadi Taraglat, some 80 km long, its springs were located within a strip 3.6 km (20 stadia) from the coast in a reach known as Wadi Caam. These were the springs that supplied the Hadrianic Baths of Lepcis Magna in all probability by means of the scheme put in place by Q. Servilius Candidus in AD119-120.

Field reconnaissance and cartographic analysis rule out the presence of springs any further inland. The claim by Herodotus (IV, 175) that the springs of the Cinyps were located near the Hill of the Graces 200 km (36 km) from the coast may thus be considered an error in the tradition handed down in the text.
A far-flung memory of Cyrene
Authors: Wright G. R. H.
Published: February 2016

Some years ago when a tribute to Richard Goodchild was planned to appear in Libyan Studies, the writer prepared a short note on memories of Cyrene by the 19th century founders of Cyrenaean Archaeology. At that time he was unable to obtain information as anticipated concerning Capt. E. A. Porcher R. N., and reluctantly omitted Porcher from the assembly. Recently, by a curious coincidence, information concerning Porcher's career has come to his notice via two unpublished collections of documents. Accordingly, the following brief record is supplied as a supplement to the note in Libyan Studies 1999, 30: 98-108.
The Vischer family archives
Authors: Hare John
Published: February 2016

Until the end of the 19th century, the camel road from Kukawa near Lake Chad in Northern Nigeria to Tripoli in Libya was essentially a slave route. Only the most robust slaves survived the desert march which usually ended in the great slave market of Murzuk in central Libya. Prior to John Hare in 2001/2002, the last foreigner known to have followed the road in its entirety was the Swiss-born, British national Hanns Vischer, in 1906.

This article, which quotes from the Vischer family archive, highlights and compares the differences that have arisen in undertaking this journey with camels after a lapse of 100 years. It reveals how Vischer was attacked by Tuaregs at Tajirhi in southern Libya and his encounters with imprisoned Turkish and Bulgarian revolutionaries and miscreants in Murzuk. It also highlights the dangers to a foreigner of undertaking this journey at a time when the Ottoman empire was crumbling and the French and the British were striving to carve out their colonial territories in the vast Saharan and sub-Saharan regions of Africa.
Euesperides (Benghazi): preliminary report on the spring 2003 season
Authors: Wilson Andrew , Bennett Paul , Buzaian Ahmed , Buttrey Ted , Fell Vanessa , Found Ben , Göransson Kristian , Guinness Abby , Hardy Jamal , Harris Kerry , Helm Richard , Kattenberg Alette , Morley Geoffrey , Swift Keith , Wootton William , Zimi Eleni
Published: February 2016

This article reports on the fifth season of the ongoing project at Euesperides (Benghazi). Excavation in Area P'confirmed a date of 261-250 BC for the destruction of the penultimate phase and the construction of the final phase, with mosaics of mixed pebble and irregular tesserae. An inscription was discovered on the mosaic of the penultimate phase; and some rooms of the preceding phase were investigated. In Area Q the dismantling of the street sequence continued, together with the investigation of houses fronting the street, and the evidence for the lines of different phases of the city defences. Outside the line of the latest defences, excavation in an ancient quarry ditch revealed a refuse deposit rich in ceramics and organic materials. In Area R the rooms surrounding the courtyard were defined, and the latest phases of Murex purple dye production were investigated. At the request of the Municipality and the Department of Antiquities of Benghazi, evaluation trenches were cut to assess the impact of proposed developments on the archaeological remains south and east of the city.

Study of the finds also continued. Work began on reconstructing the design of the final phase mosaic in Area P, the central motif of which was probably a dolphin, within a wave-crest surround. Analysis of the coarsewares demonstrated that between 40-60% of third-century BC coarsewares at the site were imported, many from areas of the Punic world; this suggests active and regular trading networks. Study of the amphorae revealed that forms of Corinthian B amphorae were produced at Euesperides.
The effects of recent storms on the exposed coastline of Tocra
Authors: Bennett Paul , Wilson Andrew , Buzaian Ahmed , Kattenberg Alette
Published: February 2016

This paper, prepared at the request of the Department of Antiquities of Benghazi, reports on severe erosion of the exposed seaward escarpment of the ancient site of Tocra after recent winter storms. A brief measured survey by the authors and comparison with a plan of the site made in 1966, demonstrated that up to 20 m of the coastline has been lost in 40 years. A photographic survey made at the same time records a number of new discoveries, exposed as a consequence of increasing erosion of the escarpment.

The authors believe that continuing annual erosion of the seaward facing part of the town is a serious problem requiring urgent action by the highest authorities.
Consul Warrington's English Garden
Authors: Wright John
Published: February 2016

In 1820, when he had already been six years in Tripoli, the British Consul General, Colonel Hanmer Warrington, acquired a small country estate about a mile beyond the city walls. The move had political implications that he may not have considered or appreciated at the time. But the fact that for a quarter of a century (1820-46) Consul Warrington lived most of the year, and eventually all the year, in this so-called ‘English Garden’ in the oasis-suburb of the menscia brought this influential, larger-than-life figure into much closer, personal contact with local dissident and opposition figures than he would ever have done had he been always shut up in town. In the decade 1832-42 Consul Warrington's official diplomatic position in Tripoli, together with his informal role as doyen of the menscia residents, placed him in a unique position to meddle and mediate in the affairs of the Regency of Tripoli. Such was the case under the semi-independent Karamanli regime and, after 1835, under the Ottoman Turkish administration ruling direcdy from Constantinople. Although the rewards of this risky policy might have been spectacular for Warrington and for Great Britain (and they were nearly achieved in 1842), such success was elusive.
Un nuovo monumento funerario dal suburbio occidentale di Leptis Magna
Authors: Cifani Gabriele
Published: February 2016

A funerary monument dating from the second half of the second centuryadwas discovered in 1997 in the western suburbs of Leptis Magna. The Latin inscription engraved on the monument states that it was dedicated to two brothers, Pompeius Nabor and Pompeius Ba[rea], by their father. The monument is an interesting example of small-scale funerary buildings which imitated the large mausolea of the Tripolitanian interior and which are associated with the middle class citizenry of Leptis.
The ‘Red Tomb’ at Cyrene
Authors: Thorn Dorothy
Published: February 2016

An unregistered rock-cut tomb in Cyrene has been identified as that previously visited by two early explorers to Cyrene. Pacho recorded an inscription, which he published, and the interior was recognised as being that shown in Porcher's Watercolour 98 and the plan Watercolour 94 which he presented, with many others, to the Trustees of the British Museum in 1865.
The Mausoleum of Gasr Doga
Authors: Bigi Francesca , Vita-Evrard Ginette Di , Fontana Sergio , Schingo Gianluca
Published: February 2016

The mausoleum of Gasr Doga in the Tarhuna area was a grand funerary monument erected, by a member of the local Libico-Punic élite, in a strategic position on the limits of the provincial territory. Its architectural articulation recalls the dynastic Numidian monuments, while its decoration shows elements of the local tradition combined with motifs imported from Italy. In Late Antiquity and the Islamic period the mausoleum was surrounded by a fortified village, almost entirely built ofspoliacoming from the mausoleum itself. In an attempted reconstruction, the elevation of the third storey is discussed alongside other problems concerning the original layout of the structure.
DMP V: Investigations in 2009 of Cemeteries and Related Sites on the West Side of the Taqallit Promontory
Authors: Mattingly David , Lahr Marta , Wilson Andrew , Abduli Hafed , Ahmed Muftah , Baker Steve , Cole Franca , Rodriguez Mireya González , Hobson Matt , Leitch Victoria , Moussa Farès , Nikita Efthymia , Radini Anita , Reeds Ian , Savage Toby , Sterry Martin
Published: February 2016

The ‘Burials and Identity’ team of the Desert Migrations Project carried out two main excavations in the 2009 season, at the monumental Garamantian cemeteries of TAG001 and TAG012, by the Taqallit headland. In addition, a detailed survey was made of cemeteries and other sites on the west side of the Taqallit headland, to set the two main cemetery excavations in context. A total of over 2,100 individual burials was recorded in this small area of a few square kilometres. This cemetery survey was combined with further research on the well-preserved foggara systems in this area, which originate at the escarpment among the cemeteries and run in a north-westerly direction towards the valley centre, where some additional Garamantian settlement sites were also located. The foggara research also involved excavation at four locations to try to elucidate issues relating to the dating of these.

A total of 22 burials was investigated at TAG001, an imposing cemetery of stone-built stepped tombs that had been badly damaged by illegal bulldozing in the 1990s. Although these had been subjected to robbing at some point in the past, many preserved considerable parts of the skeletons buried within and some surprisingly complete artifact groups. Of particular importance are a series of Garamantian necklaces in ostrich eggshell, carnelian and glass beads, which we were able to lift in perfect sequence and restring. At TAG012, about 2 km north of the Taqallit headland, we excavated an area of a mudbrick cemetery, exposing 12 square/rectangular tombs. Two further burials were excavated at the dispersed cemetery TAG006, in both cases involving tombs that had an interesting stratigraphical relationship with foggara spoil mounds.
Another Hellenistic Royal Portrait from the Temple of Apollo at Cyrene?
Authors: Adams Neil
Published: February 2016

During their second campaign at the temple of Apollo in August 1861, Robert Murdoch Smith and Edwin Porcher discovered a large marble female head along the northern edge of the building's peristasis. The sculpture was subsequently sent to the British Museum. A recent re-examination of the head suggests that it deserves serious more attention than it has hitherto merited, principally for its quality, and the fact that it displays characteristics highly indicative of Hellenistic royal portraiture. Furthermore, comparison with a similarly sized and modelled male head discovered inside the temple presently identified as ‘Ptolemy Apion’ suggests the two should be considered as companion pieces. This paper attempts to identify the subject of the female head within the context of other sculpture originating from the temple, together with epigraphy relating to the Ptolemaic family at Cyrene. It also explores the possibility of a royal portrait group erected inside Cyrene's primary sacred space.
Murābiṭīn and Ashrāf of Libya: betwixt and between roots and rule
Authors: Najem Faraj
Published: February 2016

Libya in the last nine centuries has been dramatically transformed from a multi-religious, predominantly Berber speaking State into an almost Arabised, Muslim nation. This transformation is considered in relation to the emergence of the Ribāṭ and the Murābiṭīn, including the Ashrāf. This article explores the linguistic and historical roots of the Ribāṭ, Murābiṭīn and Ashrāf. It also examines the spread of Ṣufism in Libya, and die influence both the Ṣūfi orders and the Murābiṭin and Ashrāf have had on Libyan politics and society.
La ninfa ‘Cyrene’ in un dipinto di Edward Calvert (1799–1883)
Authors: Santucci Anna
Published: February 2016

Cyrene is the tide of an oil on canvas by Edward Calvert (1799–1883), an English artist of the Victorian age, who was a follower of William Blake and member of the group the ʿAncientsʾ. The figure of Cyrene reproduces the Aphrodite statue (sc. Figure M) from the East Pediment of the Athenian Parthenon; probably Calvert studied the marble sculpture in the ʿTemporary Elgin Roomʾ of the British Museum, when he was a student at the Drawing and Life school of the Royal Academy. The painting is difficult to date, but the hairstyle of Cyrene could pertain to the 1830s or 1840s. The unusual subject could be influenced by the first English expeditions in North Africa.
With brush and camera: Libya today and one hundred years ago
Authors: Hare John
Published: February 2016

In 1906 Hanns Vischer travelled by camel from Tripoli, Libya to Kukawa, Nigeria. His journey was followed almost 100 years later by John Hare, as part of a campaign to raise awareness for the plight of the critically endangered wild Bactrian camel in China and Mongolia. A gifted amateur artist, Vischer illustrated a number of the localities visited during his journey. By coincidence, during his re-creation of the return journey, John Hare produced a comparable photographic record. This short note introduces Vischer's watercolours as a source for the comparative assessment of the landscape today and 100 years ago, and provides a supplement to ‘The Vischer family archives’, published in Libyan Studies 34: 175–182.
Marmaric wares: New Kingdom and later examples
Authors: Hulin Linda
Published: February 2016

In Autumn 2000, the University of Liverpool continued its researches into the Ramesses II fortress at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, some 25 km west of Marsa Matruh. During this season, the area around the wadis that run towards Ras Abu Laho, 3 km to the west of Umm el-Rakham, was explored. Particular attention was paid to the spurs and knolls that presented a commanding view of the wadi and surrounding area or the coast, in the hope of finding possible New Kingdom patrol routes in association with the fort.

This paper presents more evidence of local ceramic manufacture activity in the region. Two local fabrics, Marmaric fabrics 1 and 2, are identified and their shapes and distribution are discussed. They are dated to the New Kingdom, more or less contemporary with the fortress at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, since they occur with Nile valley fabrics. It is suggested that they were either made by the local Libyan population, or by the occupants of the fortress for their own use.

The decorative corpus of another local fabric, Shell Tempered ware, is also briefly sketched, and its post-New Kingdom date reconfirmed.
Un Santuario di Frontiera, fra Polis E Chora
Authors: Bacchielli Lidiano
Published: February 2016

Nella campagna di scavi condotta a Cirene tra l'ottobre del 1910 ed il maggio del 1911 la Missione Archeologica Americana diretta da Richard Norton portava alia luce circa tremila statuine fittili, intere o quasi, ed una quantità innumerevole di testine ed altri frammenti.

L'occasione per la scoperta era stata del tutto fortuita. Agli inizi di novembre del 1910 un arabo si era presentato al campo portando un cesto con 765 statuette di terracotta, che erano state scavate nel suo giardino posto alle pendici dell'Acropoli, nella parte nord-occidentale, al livello della Terrazza del Santuario di Apollo (la Myrtousa).

Molte conversazioni e molti caffè consentirono al Norton l'inizio dello scavo, in una striscia piana posta a valle di un gradino roccioso. Nel sito non si rinvennero resti di edifici, ma diverse nicchie rettangolari scavate in alcuni speroni di roccia. Immediatamente davanti a queste vennero trovate le statuette di terracotta: esse formavano uno strato dello spessore di una novantina di centimetri.
A Note on the Temple of Zeus at Cyrene and its Re-Erection
Authors: Wright G. R. H.
Published: February 2016

During the course of work in Cyrenaica extending over the 1950s and 1960s I was asked by the late Richard Goodchild, then Controller of Antiquities, to note and comment on any architectural features which I felt to have special significance. In this way, across the years, I handed over to him various short notes with drawings of miscellaneous items that I had observed. Of one such observation a copy has come to hand recently among old papers.

While working with the Michigan Expedition to Apollonia (1965–68) I visited the late Professor Stucchi's project for re-erecting the remains of the Temple of Zeus at Cyrene, begun in 1967. During the visit I was interested to observe the detailing of a triglyph block from the peristyle entablature. This seemed to conflict with, or rather to add somewhat to the then accepted building history of the temple — i.e. a (late) Archaic Greek Temple overthrown during the Jewish Revolt and subsequently refurbished minus the peristyle.

Work on Professor Stucchi's project is not yet completed; and although he published both progress reports and some discussion of the findings, he has not, to my knowledge, given us a detailed account of the evidence for the history of the building; so perhaps my note made in 1968 remains of interest. I have left the argument as it stood, but some updating material has been added to the footnotes.

G.R.H.W.

Avignon, December 1993.
Pottery as Evidence for Trade in Medieval Cyrenaica
Authors: Kennet D.
Published: February 2016

The use of pottery distributions to identify trade contacts is one of the most important tools in the archaeologist's repertoire. Recent examples of such studies, concentrating on the classical period in Cyrenaica, have produced evidence which provides valuable new insights into changing trade patterns for which there is precious little historical information. There is, at present, a debate over Cyrenaica's trading contacts during the classical period in which Fulford has proposed a definite bias towards trade with the eastern Mediterranean (Fulford 1989) whilst Lloyd has challenged the lack of emphasis given to Italian imports (Lloyd forthcoming). Abulafia's reassessment of the Pisanbacinihas likewise stimulated debate on the development of trade contacts, this time in the medieval period (Abulafia 1985). Such studies rely upon two points; the first is a well-documented corpus of material and the second is a detailed background knowledge of the wares and fabrics in general circulation to which the corpus can be related. On both points medieval archaeologists are clearly still at a disadvantage to those working on the classical period, and an attempt to understand Cyrenaica's medieval trade contacts from its ceramic assemblages cannot therefore achieve the same detail as, for example, Fulford's work (1989) has done. Nonetheless, an examination of the material which is available, and a discussion of its significance, is the intention of this paper.
Farmers and Frontiers. Exploiting and Defending the Countryside of Roman Tripolitania
Authors: Mattingly D. J.
Published: February 2016

The past two decades have seen dramatic changes of perspective and an explosion of new information in the broad fields covered by this overview. Within the constraints of space allowed it is not possible to cover all aspects or to mention all relevant publications. References to pre-1969 work have been kept to a minimum, except where dramatic revision of older views is now necessary.

The traditional picture of the Roman frontier in Tripolitania owes an incalculable debt to the pioneering work of Richard Goodchild. Much of his observation remains of the highest value (accessible particularly through the volume of collected articles (edited by Joyce Reynolds), Goodchild 1976), but in the 40 years since his initial work on thelimes Tripolitanus(1949a/b; 1950a/b; Ward-Perkins and Goodchild 1949) the available body of data has increased greatly and the conceptual framework for interpreting it has changed considerably (the scale of the reappraisal may be judged by comparing Brogan and Smith 1957 and 1985). The most controversial aspects of Goodchild's work concern the date of the development of a frontier in Tripolitania and the interpretation of the fortified farms which are so characteristic of the zone: ‘…no traces of a pre-Severanlimeshave yet been found. In this respect it may be significant that the linearfossatawhich Baradez has proved to constitute the central feature of the Numidianlimes, and which he tentatively dated to the Hadrianic period, have not yet been found in the area of modern Tripolitania … Apart from … the outer fortresses of Gheriat el-Garbia and Bu Ngem … the military works of thelimes Tripolitanusseem to have consisted almost exclusively of fortified farmhouses occupied by Libyanlimitanei.’ (Goodchild 1950 = 1976, 44).
Libya's Oil Resources
Authors: McLachlan K.
Published: February 2016

Libya is by most definitions an oil-based economy. Yet academic study of the national oil industry is at best fragmentary. The reasons for the poor showing of the Libyan oil industry in the literature stem partly from the relative decline in its international importance since the mid-1970s and partly from the ambiguity over acknowledgement of the role of the oil industry within Libya.

The growth of the Libyan oil industry dates from 1951 and the coming of national independence. There had been surveys of a small scale and technologically limited kind in Libya in the Italian period. Some shows of oil had been discovered in Tripolitania as early as 1914 when water wells were drilled to supply Tripoli city (Waddams 1980, 27). Other oil was discovered in Tripolitania in the 1930s and a full scale exploration programme was prepared in the years 1937–1940 by the Italian national oil corporation under the geological guidance of Professor Ardito Desio, but never fully implemented due to the onset of war. Indeed, Desio was to return as a consultant to the oil companies working in Libya in the 1950s.

In 1953 a mineral law was issued which paved the way for the grant of concessions to foreign oil companies to explore and develop oil resources. A petroleum law was promulgated in 1955 which offered rather more favourable terms on fees, rents, royalties and expensing to the oil companies than were available in other longer established oil producing states of North Africa and the Middle East (cf. Waddams, 1980, 57–70). At the same time, the assets of the oil companies in Libya were given far reaching protection under amendments of the petroleum law. The consequence of the generous operating terms of this and subsequent revisions of the law (1961 and 1965) was a rapid growth in the number of concessionaries exploring for oil within the country. The open-door policy pursued by the government was much criticised at a later period. Undoubtedly, however, it did succeed in attracting a wide spectrum of oil companies into Libya, including the major ones, such as Esso, Royal Dutch/Shell, Texaco, Gulf, BP and Mobil, together with many small independent interests. The best international techniques for exploration and development were put to work in Libya within a very short space of time, bringing the country rapidly into the ranks of the main oil-exporting states. Oil exports began on a commercial scale in September 1961 from Esso's Zelten fields in the Sirtican area, concession No. 6.
Population Geography and Settlement Studies
Authors: Lawless R. I.
Published: February 2016

Oil wealth has transformed Libya, a desertic and sparsely populated country, bringing dramatic demographic changes (Zoghlami 1979). El Mehdawi and Clarke (1982) and Lawless and Kezeiri (1983) describe and analyse the growing polarisation of the population in the north-west and north-east coastal regions which contain the two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi. They show that in recent years spatial duality has been sharply intensified by strong rural to urban migration and also by an increase in interregional migration. The concentration of new development programmes in certain urban centres has been the main cause of the development differential among the regions. As a result the regions which include the most important urban centres have become the most prosperous and the others have become less developed or even depressed. This has been the main cause of the rapid increase in both rural to urban migration and interregional migration. The inhabitants of the less developed regions have continued to move in increasing numbers to those which are more developed. The large majority of migrants who moved from these less developed regions are represented by rural people who have changed their place of residence and their occupation. They have left their work in the rural sector to seek employment in the industrial and service sector. As a result agricultural production has declined. The agrarian sector now employs less than a quarter of the Libyan workforce and the percentage of nomads and semi-nomads has declined to under 10% of the population. Albergani and Vignet-Zunz (1982) have shown that colonial invasion and occupation followed by the Second World War threatened the Bedouin of the Jebel Akhdar with extinction, not through sedentarisation but through the mass migration of a devastated rural population. The advent of oil and the high salary levels available in urban centres further encouraged this tendency. Gannous (1979) studied the movement of Bedouin from rural areas to the town of Al Abiyar and the erosion of Bedouin culture by urban values.
ULVS XVI: Prehistoric Rock Carvings in the Tripolitanian Pre-desert
Authors: Barker G. W. W.
Published: February 2016

This paper discusses three groups of rock art in their local, Tripolitanian, context and in terms of their wider relationship with the known corpus of Saharan prehistoric art. The rock carvings at Maia Dib, Udei el Chel/Caf el-Metchia and el-Tolga are described and some preliminary thoughts advanced as to their date and significance. Some suggestions are also made regarding the possible relationship between these carvings and the climatic and environmental changes which characterised the Sahara in later prehistory.
A New Clausura in Western Tripolitania: Wadi Skiffa South
Authors: Mattingly D. J. , Jones G. D. B.
Published: February 2016

This note gives a preliminary notice of the discovery of a further clausura in western Tripolitnia (Southern Tunisia). These linear barriers are assumed to have performed some function in customs regulation and the supervision of transhumance movements in the frontier zone, rather than being defensive barriers as such. The new discovery suggests that there may well be still others undiscovered in southern Tunisia and western Libya.
Archaic Greek Pottery from Euesperides, Cyrenaica
Authors: Vickers M. , Gill D. W. J.
Published: February 2016

This summary report on Archaic Greek pottery from Euesperides, Cyrenaica, describes 60 diagnostic sherds of Eastern Greek, ‘Parian’, Laconian, Corinthian and Attic origin. The material all comes from the earliest occupation levels of the Sidi Abeid sector of the ancient site. However, the question of the exact date of the earliest settlement at Euesperides is complicated by a continuing controversy about the dating of Archaic Greek pottery in general. Only when these more general problems are resolved can a firmer date be assigned on the basis of the identifications in this catalogue.
Population Growth of the Libyan Small Towns
Authors: Kezeiri S. K.
Published: February 2016

This paper addresses itself to the study of population growth of the small towns in Libya. The Libyan small towns have grown rapidly and it is expected that the majority will continue to grow in the future. Their growth can be attributed to natural increase, internal migration, the influx of foreigners, all of which have been stimulated by the State.
The Libyan Period in Egypt: An Essay in Interpretation
Authors: Leahy A.
Published: February 2016

The common assumption that the Libyans who governed Egypt during the ‘Third Intermediate Period’ (c. 1070–715 BC) were Egyptianised is misleading. The nature and provenance of the extant evidence tends to obscure the retention of their ethnic identity, but this is apparent in the persistence of Libyan names and titles in Egypt. The influence of these Libyans can be traced in the fragmented political structure of the period, which represents decentralisation, not anarchy; in the erosion of the distinction between king and subject; in the disintegration of convention in language and script; and in the cessation of elaborate preparation for death and the afterlife.
Tripoli in the late Seventeenth Century: The Economics of corsairing in a ‘Sterill Country’
Authors: Pennell C. R.
Published: February 2016

The economic poverty of Tripoli in the Seventeenth century was such that the piratical activities of its corsair fleet were of major importance to both the town and the Ottoman regime. An unpublished journal written by Thomas Baker (British Consul between 1679–1685) contains detailed information about the arrival and departure of both merchant ships and corsairs and about the value of prizes taken by the pirates and brought to Tripoli. These data are of great value in demonstrating the impact of the corsairs on the political and economic relationships of Tripoli with the European powers. If the corsairing was too successful, Tripoli was liable to be attacked by these powers. But on the other hand, when the authorities were constrained by treaties with the Europeans to limit the activities of the corsairs, the resulting economic hardship threatened the internal stability of the regime.
The Art and Architecture of Lepcis Magna: marble origins by Isotopic analysis
Authors: Walda H. , Walker S.
Published: February 2016

This is a summary of a paper given to members and guests of the Society of Libyan Studies in London on 6th June 1984. The authors use the technique of stable isotope analysis of carbon and oxygen in samples of marble taken from carefully selected monuments in Lepcis Magna to compare statue types and architectural decoration. Controversial views on the origins of the sculptors working at Lepcis Magna are also examined in the light of this method.
The Reinterpretation of Latino-Punic Inscriptions from Roman Tripolitania
Authors: Elmayer A. F.
Published: February 2016

Nine Latino-Punic inscriptions from Roman Tripolitania are discussed in detail, and their wider context discussed. Not only do they attest to the prevalence of the Punic language in Roman Tripolitania, but also provide interesting data about the Neo-Punic language. They also shed light on the history of the ancient Roman province of Tripolitania and the Roman military and civil organisation in the zone of the ‘limes’.
The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: some implications for Libya
Authors: Blake G. H.
Published: February 2016

The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will shape worldwide maritime management and offshore jurisdiction for generations to come. Libya will gain substantially from the new convention notably in respect of a 12 nautical mile territorial waters, and the acquisition of one of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones in the Mediterranean. The known resources of this zone are not abundant, though some useful oilfields have been found. Several of Libya's offshore boundaries remain to be fixed, and Libya's claim to the Gulf of Surt as ‘historic waters’ creates some uncertainty. An upsurge in Libyan offshore activity, including conservation activities, is likely in the future.
Nests of a Tube-dwelling Bee in Quaternary Sediments of the Jeffara Plain, S. P. L. A. J.
Authors: Anketell J. M. , Ghellali S. M.
Published: February 2016

Vertical, tubular borings, either simple or subdivided into cells by horizontal, spirally ornamented partitions of cemented fine silt, are common in the uppermost part of Unit Q3 of the Quaternary floodplain deposits in the eastern part of the Jeffara Plain. The structures display many features similar to those found in nests constructed by tube-dwelling, solitary wasps and bees. The size of the cells, the spiral construction of the partitions and the general architecture of the cells is closely comparable to the nest structure of the large carpenter beeXylocopa virginica krombeiniHurd., and it is suggested that the Quarternary nests were constructed by a bee of Xylocopid type.
Reorganising Libya's National Water Resources
Authors: Allan J. A.
Published: February 2016

Libya's further economic development depends on the careful use of its coastal aquifers and the economic exploitation of the substantial but remote groundwater resources of the south. The former have been seriously impaired by over-use and the Libyan government has decided to assure water supplies for agriculture, industry and for urban use by moving up to 3 km3 per year of fossil groundwater to the Gulf of Surt and later to the Gefara Plain. The article discusses the scope and significance of the plans and comments on the agricultural implications and the likely ultimate use of the water.
The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey IV: The 1981 Season
Authors: Jones G. D. B. , Barker G. W. W. , Buck D. J. , Burns J. R. , Dore J. N. , Mattingly D. J. , Welsby D.
Published: February 2016

The final season of the three-year programme to survey the central Tripolitanian pre-desert examined the region to the west of the regions of the Wadis Sofeggin and Zem Zem, casting important light on the route between the interior of Libya and the coast during the prehistoric and Roman periods. In particular, a detailed account is given of the archaeological sites of the Bir Scedua Basin and of the Severan fort at Gheriat el-Garbia.
Pre-Islamic Pottery from Ajdabiyah
Authors: Riley J. A.
Published: February 2016

In the course of the Islamic period excavations at Ajdabiyah during the 1970s, three sondages through the floor of the Islamic mosque, produced a limited amount of pre-Islamic pottery. The pottery ranged in date from the early Hellenistic period through to the seventh century AD, attesting more or less continuous occupation of the area. The suite of pottery shapes resembled those commonly occurring in stratified levels at Berenice (Benghazi), illustrating the regional similarity of local wares.
The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey 1979–1981: Palaeoeconomy and Environmental Archaeology in the Pre-Desert
Authors: Barker G. W. W. , Jones G. D. B. , Gilbertson D. , Jones D.
Published: February 2016

Three seasons of intensive survey in the central Tripolitanian pre-desert, primarily in the regions of the Wadis Sofeggin and Zem Zem, have provided a new basis for the study of pre-desert cultures. Not only have hundreds of new sites been discovered, but the combination of environmental and geomorphological studies with archaeological survey is now providing important information about the underlying mechanisms which supported them. An increasing settlement density and social complexity can be identified in the Romano–Libyan period together with the development of intensive farming and elaborate irrigation systems. There is little evidence for significant climatic change to account for this increased settlement intensity or for its subsequent decline. The explanation for this must probably be sought in a complex relationship between social organisation, population change, and the agricultural system, and its impact on the environment.
Planning for change in Fezzan
Authors: McLachlan K. S.
Published: February 2016

In the period 1980 to 1982 the Libyan authorities began planning for the economic and social development of the country to the year 2000. This article examines the special factors that influenced the formulation of the Sabha regional plan. Particular attention is focussed on the background for oil exports and income and the impact this had on official attitudes to economic planning in Libya. The various options proposed for the Sabha regional plan are examined together with their implications for agriculture, which was used in the plan as the sector into which all other developments were tied to give an integrated and truely regional plan for change.
The Roman Road-Station at Thenadassa (Ain Wif)
Authors: Mattingly D. J.
Published: February 2016

A reappraisal of the Roman period ruins at Ain Wif has been made following the identification there of traces of defensive walls. These walls are interpreted as being the robbed-out remains of a Roman fortlet and possibly also a tort on the same site. Two phases of military occupation were also evident in modern drain trenches being cut across the site and are attested epigraphically for the military bath-house by the spring. Ceramic evidence from the site suggests that the initial phase lies within the second century, whilst the Severan occupation, known from an inscription to begin early in the third century, represents a second phase. The previous view of the site as an undefended road-station, with a military presence only under the Severan emperors is no longer tenable. Moreover, the new evidence indicates that there was some measure of military organisation in the hinterland of the Emporia prior to the accession of Septimius Severus at the very end of the second century AD. The importance of the site also lies in its large civilian and indigenous population who continued to occupy the site long after the military had departed.