bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Civic Decree from Benghazi
Authors: Reynolds J. M.
Published: February 2016

Among the more striking finds made during the Society's excavations at Sidi Khrebish is the upper part of an inscribed marble stele which had been re-used, unfortunately with the inscribed face upwards, as a paving stone in the basilica. It is of white marble, probably from the Greek islands, slightly tapered towards the top, measuring 0·46 - 0·47 m. in width × 0·97 in height and 0·19 in depth. A very simple moulding runs round all four sides some 15 cms. from the top. It is chipped along all edges, badly worn on the face, especially in the central area, and pitted and cracked as well, especially in the lower part, probably by an attempt to break it up. A section of unknown size has in fact been hacked off at the bottom.

The text is often hard to read and I am sure that more could be extracted from the worn areas with time and patience; but it seems desirable to offer a provisional publication as quickly as possible.
Architecture
Authors: Sear Frank
Published: February 2016

Many interesting architectural fragments came to light during the excavation, but in few cases are they sufficient to give an overall picture of any one building. Some suggest stylistic links with Tolmeita, although the Berenice versions are generally coarser and smaller in scale. For example Berenice has produced several variants of the doorway in the East portico of the Roman Villa at Tolmeita, but the forms are simpler and the scale smaller. An arched doorway which led from the street into the ‘L’ peristyle is closely similar to ones at Tolmeita.

Only the peristyle of ‘L’ can be confidently restored to its full height (Fig.3), but this building alone tells us a great deal about the character and influences of Berenice architecture. Built about 75 A.D. its order is Doric, for long a favourite in the province, and the columns are composed of two unfluted shaft drums and a capital cut from a separate block. No column is complete, but the fragments suggest a height of around 2.50 m. This only gives a lower diameter to height ratio of 1:6.5, but other elements too suggest that the building was rather squat. Above the columns is an architrave bearing a monumental inscription, and a frieze with triglyphs offset so that those over the columns could be carved from a single block instead of the normal two. To judge by the slots at the back of the frieze blocks the peristyle was roofed with wooden beams on which were laid poles or planking sealed with plaster or mud, a style which Wright terms “universal in the Near East during all ages”. After the building was abandoned the cornice blocks were dislodged so that the roof beams could be extracted, a demonstration of the scarcity of wood in the province. Good building stone was scarce too, as is shown by the widespread reuse of stone on the site and the extensive use of mud-brick. The back wall of the ‘L’ peristyle is stone-built to a height of about 1.30 m. and above that in courses of thin unbaked bricks whose dimensions conform to the wall thickness.
Excavations of a Kiln Site at Tocra Libya in August 1974
Authors: Riley J. A.
Published: February 2016

It has been known since 1954 that a pottery kiln site is situated about 100 metres to the North West of the West Gate of Roman Tocra, in the area known locally as ‘Howa El-Faquar’ (Area of Potsherds).

While looking for tombs in the East face of the small quarry in this area (see Fig.l), Wright discovered in 1954 part of a wastage dump from a kiln. The general direction of the tip lines led him to consider that one of the kilns was situated on a ‘small but salient mound’ (see Pl.1) nearby. He published a selection of pottery from the dump and, after some discussion, based on lamp evidence, he placed the date of the group at around A.D.100.

As this area is now outside the area controlled by the Department of Antiquities and is being ploughed by local farmers, it was thought expedient to examine the area through limited excavation for several reasons. A date of around A.D.100 seemed too early in the light of a study of the coarse pottery from the recent excavation at Sidi Krebish in Benghazi: a late second or early third century A.D. date seemed more appropriate. It was hoped that further excavation at Tocra would shed more light on this. In addition, few kilns have been excavated anywhere in North Africa to date and the potential of the Tocra site for structural and organisational information about the pottery industry is very great. It was also considered an excellent opportunity to study in detail a large group of contemporary pottery and to quantify the relative proportions of the different types.

Permission was kindly granted by Mr. Masoud Shagluf, Controller of Antiquities for Western Cyrenaica, and a two week excavation took place in August 1974.
The Topography of Libyan Sand Grains
Authors: Vita-Finzi Claudio
Published: February 2016

The archaeological remains of Libya, prehistoric as well as Classical, have long served as guides to the age of the landscapes and deposits with which they are associated. To give a familiar example, the elevation of the ancient harbours of Apollonia and Lepcis Magna relative to present-day sea level is used in determining the extent of submergence or emergence since Antiquity. Other instances of archaeological dating may be found in the studies devoted to the Quaternary geology and geomorphology of Libya which were briefly reviewed in the Society's Fourth Annual Report (1972–3, pp.9–10). Hitherto, archaeological dating has been applied to substantial portions of the landscape in order to establish when they were formed, destroyed, deformed or displaced. It is now beginning to prove fruitful in investigating the history of individual sand grains, although still with the aim of evaluating gross environmental changes.

The items whose age is here at issue are identified with the help of the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), whose application to the study of quartz grains is primarily associated with the name of D. H. Krinsley of the City University of New York. The SEM allows grains to be examined at a wide range of magnifications with all the advantages to be gained from a great depth of focus. Plates 1–4 illustrate the kind of detail revealed by the SEM on grains from deposits in Wadi Ganima, Tripolitania.
The Question of Nationalism and Education in Libya under Italian Rule
Authors: Appleton Leonard
Published: February 2016

Over thirty years of Italian rule in Libya (1911–1942), while leaving a considerable infrastructure of roads, schools and other public buildings, provided only a poor legacy in terms of skilled and educated Libyan manpower. This is attested by the fact that in 1951, there were only five graduates of Italian universities and perhaps ten from the Islamic University of Al-Azhar in Cairo. Moreover, there were no Arab directors of elementary schools or persons qualified for the non-Islamic professions or trained as agricultural experts. On the other hand, apologists of Italian rule emphasise that by 1942 Italy had made an important contribution towards solving some of Libya's most chronic problems. Although official statistics must be treated with caution, it is likely that by 1939 around 9676 pupils were enrolled in the halo-Arab schools, even if only 50% attended regularly. A further 147 students were said to be attending the School of Islamic Studies or al-Madrasah al-Islamiyya al-ùlyá at Tripoli which trained Islamic lawyers, school teachers and minor officials. 22 Moslem girls were also receiving training as nurses at the school of Princess Maria Pia originally set up in January 1936. The object of this paper, however, is not to narrate the achievements and defects of Italian rule in Libya, but to ask, what possible problems in the political, as opposed to the economic or other related fields, might have contributed to such a state of imbalance. Was it, for instance, some kind of “apartheid” policy on the part of the colonial regime that prevented Libyans from attending the excellent system of Italian secondary schools and so going on, like their Italian contemporaries, to become skilled artisans, technicians, engineers, doctors or administrators? Or was it because the mass of the Libyan population were so basically opposed to the Italian regime that they regarded attendance at the schools, whether elementary or secondary, as an act of collaboration with the hated oppressor? These are just two of the areas that would have to be explored by the historian before any explanation could be put forward of what can be termed the “central dilemma” of educational development in Libya under Italian rule.
Pottery and the History of Roman Tripolitania: Evidence from Sabratha and the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey
Authors: Dore J. N.
Published: February 2016

This article considers some of the ceramic evidence from Sabratha (the excavations of 1948-1951) and from the pre-desert to the south-east of the Gebel Gharian (the area of the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey). The association of fineware with different classes of site in the Valleys area is used to construct a chronological framework for settlement within the area. Some of the commoner coarseware types from Sabratha are illustrated and discussed.
Problems of Industrialisation in Libya since the Revolution
Authors: Bergs Rolf
Published: February 2016

This paper deals with the Libyan industrialisation programme since the revolution in 1969. Although Libya is striving to achieve national development within the next 20 years on a par with other advanced ‘Newly Industrialising Countries', it seems that the declining oil prices and the decreasing income from foreign trade since 1981 is retarding the build-up significantly. The main problem is that the necessary foreign labour can no longer be financed. The annual growth rates achieved in industry since 1981 indicate virtual stagnation.
Rock Art and Archaeological Context: The Case of the Tadrart Acacus (Libya)
Authors: Barich Barbara E.
Published: February 2016

It is proposed that the problem of the relationships between prehistoric art and archaeological context should not be based upon specific examples, but rather upon a global consideration of the stratigraphic sequence known for any given area. This paper addresses this general problem, using the particular data provided by research in the Tadrart Acacus (Libya). The methods used in the field work and the sequence of occupation reconstructed for the entire region are presented. As a specific example, the site of Uan Muhuggiag in the Wadi Teshuinat is discussed. As a result of its deep stratigraphy it is possible to establish precise connections between different artistic ‘styles’ and particular cultural horizons.
Stratigraphic Relationships of Basalt Lava Flows to the Pleistocene Sedimentary Sequence of the Mizdah Region, Tripolitania, S.P.L.A.J.
Authors: Anketell J. M. , Ghellali S. M.
Published: February 2016

Calcreted debris flow breccias which form the lowermost Pleistocene deposits in the Hammadah Al Hamrah region are locally overlain by well cemented conglomerates of the Old Wadi Terraces. These are commonly capped by a younger, mature calcrete which is also found patchily developed on the Tertiary and Mesozoic limestone bedrock. Basalt lava flows rest either on an eroded surface in the conglomerates or directly on the debris flows; however, their relationship to the younger calcrete is rarely seen. In the area north-east of Mizdah a pre-younger calcrete age for the basalts is proposed on the basis of calcrete-filled fissures which invade the topmost part of the lava sequence. Similarity of the Mizdah sequence to that at Wadi Ghan in the Jabal Nafusah supports correlation of the conglomerates and basalt with Unit Q2 and the younger calcrete event with the upper calcrete of the Jifarah/Wadi Ghan areas. The calcreted breccia/debris flow deposits in turn correlate with Unit Q1 and the lower calcrete.
Relations between Libya, Tunisia and Malta up to the British Occupation of Malta
Authors: Joffé E. G. H.
Published: February 2016

The conventional view is that Malta has been on the ‘forgotten frontier’ of Christian maritime resistance to Islamic expansionism since the Islamic invasions of North Africa in the seventh century. The limited archival and archeological evidence suggests that, up to the arrival of the Order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem in Malta in 1530, this picture is not accurate. The Islamic occupation of the Maltese archipelago in 870 created a cosmopolitan Muslim society which persisted until the mid-thirteenth century, despite the Norman conquest of the region in 1090. Indeed, the formal end of Muslim society in Malta only came in 1224, as a side-result of the Hohenstauffen suppression of a Muslim rebellion in Sicily.

Even under the Order of St John contacts with the Muslim world were far closer than is conventionally supposed. The Grand Master of the Order maintained close contacts with the Qaramanlis in Tripoli and the Beys of Tunis during the eighteenth century, despite the continuation of the corso. In reality, contacts had always existed and had been recognised as essential by the Holy See because Malta could not sustain its population once it had exceeded 10,000 persons. Sicily, the obvious source of supply, often exerted undesirable political pressure and the Barbary coast was the only other alternative. The main legacy of the close contacts between Malta and the North African Muslim world, however, is to be found, even today, in the Maltese language, which is really a Medieval variant of North African Arabic.
The Suq al Jum'ah Palaeowadi, an Example of a Plio-Quaternary Palaeo-valley from the Jabal Nafusah, Northwest Libya
Authors: Ghellali S. M. , Anketell J. M.
Published: February 2016

Study of borehole data in the foothill region of the Jabal Nafusah shows that the Suq al Jum'ah palaeowadi, which cuts the jabal east of Gharyan, comprised a major drainage channel which extended in the subsurface far out from the jabal into the southern part of the Jifarah Plain. The channel is filled with sands and gravels. Basalt lava flows, channelled along the valley in outcrop for 36 km, extend for a further 48 km in the subsurface. The palaeowadi was possibly initiated in the Pliocene and appears to have been completely filled and abandoned by the end of the Pleistocene. During Holocene rejuvenation of the drainage system, the Wadi al Majanin developed as the major wadi in the region. It did not, however, excavate the palaeowadi but instead followed a different but roughly parallel northward trend.
Proposals for Updating the Rock-Drawing Sequence of the Acacus (Libya)
Authors: Muzzolini A.
Published: February 2016

The classification/chronology system which Mori put forward in 1965 for the rock-drawing sequence of the Acacus mountains has not since then been modified. It now needs re-examination, taking into account the recently acquired archaeological, palaeoclimatological and archaeozoological data and also the rock-drawing sequence of the Tassili. Indeed, several schools are found in both massifs. Firstly, this article summarises the archaeological results from recent excavations, mainly from Ti-n-Torha; the14C dates relevant to rock-pictures are set within their context and evaluated. Secondly, a new classification/chronology system is proposed, which matches the data provided by the other disciplines and the Tassilian sequence. Only some of Mori's initial units have been kept. Among the Acacus engravings, some have slight traits belonging to the ‘Naturalistic Bubaline’. Other engravings are considered unclassifiable. As for the paintings, the Round Heads are represented by their final phases only. A ‘Uan Amil Herders’ group corresponds to the ‘Final Bovidian’, not to the Early Bovidian. Finally the ‘Ti-n-Anneuin Herders’ group is the most strongly represented in the Tassili as well as in the Acacus mountains. It is contemporary with the Horse Period. Some sets of paintings also appear as unclassifiable. Whether the Garamantes are to be linked with the most recent schools remains questionable.
UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey XXIII: The 1989 Season
Authors: Barker G. W. W. , Gilbertson D. D. , Jones G. D. B. , Welsby D. A. , Wakely J.
Published: February 2016

This report presents the preliminary results of the final season of the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey, that took place in October 1989. The fieldwork was divided in two parts. The first part of the work concentrated on the settlements in the Wadi Buzra, a northern tributary of the Wadi Sofeggin, especially at Souk el Awty. The major monument here consists of a substantial church (published elsewhere by D. A. Welsby in this volume), which was investigated by architectural survey and limited excavation, as were the surrounding late Romano-Libyan farms. The modern name of the settlement suggests that it may have been an important centre in Islamic as well as the Romano-Libyan periods, but the excavation did not obtain conclusive chronological evidence. The second part of the fieldwork was in the Wadi Umm el-Kharab, a southern tributary of the Sofeggin. Here, the team carried out a detailed study of a series of fortified farms of the later Romano-Libyan period, to compare with the open farm of the earlier Romano-Libyan period in Wadi el Amud previously studied by the project. An analysis of the constructional details of the major farms was integrated with excavations to recover stratified dating evidence from within the farms and faunal and botanical evidence from associated middens, and with a survey of the water-control systems of walls down the length of the wadi. The study indicates that the wadi was settled by people living in open farms and nucleated settlements in the first four centuries AD, but that by the fifth and sixth centuries AD these were replaced by fortified farms. There is evidence that the occupants of the fortified farms cultivated the wadi within an integrated economic system characterised by centralised food storage, rather than as independent units.
Some Notes on Islamic Tolmeita
Authors: Kennet D.
Published: February 2016

This article presents some sherds of glazed, medieval pottery which were found on the surface at Tolmeita in the vicinity of the Headquarters of the Dux. This pottery suggests a period of occupation at Tolmeita from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries AD. There is a brief discussion of the possible role of Tolmeita as a port for Barqa's trade. Yakubi, al-Idrisi and Abu al-Fida are quoted as they all mention Tolmeita by name.
Garamantian Agriculture: The Plant Remains from Zinchecra, Fezzan
Authors: van der Veen Marijke
Published: February 2016

Excavations at Zinchecra, a hill fort settlement of the Garamantes in Fezzan, southern Libya, have recovered a rich assemblage of desiccated and carbonised plant remains. The archaeobotanical analysis of this assemblage has produced a unique insight into the state of agriculture in the Sahara during the first half of the first millennium BC. Three cereal crops and three fruit crops have been identified, as well as salad plants and aromatic herbs. The use of wild plant resources has also been attested. The assemblage is dated by eleven radiocarbon dates to 900–400 cal BC. A well-developed agricultural regime was present, despite the harsh climatic conditions.
A New Relief from Cyrene with a Libyan Scene
Authors: Wanis Saleh
Published: February 2016

The limestone relief, discovered near the motel in New Shahat in 1984, is one of a group of votive reliefs of the later Hellenistic period (2nd-1st centuries BC). The group, from various Libyan sites, depict Libyan sanctuaries, and are of especial interest in reflecting the close relationship between the Greek and native populations of Cyrenaica. The new find is unusual in devoting a large space to two pastoral scenes. They represent an aspect of the cult of a deity, probably Demeter, who was believed to bestow the Libyan people with meat, milk, hair, wool and other products. With these earthly goods Demeter brought the promise of fertility. Women feature prominently in the relief, as in her cult.
The Martyrion by the City Wall at Apollonia: Its Structure and Form
Authors: Wright G. R. H.
Published: February 2016

A small Christian monument of centralised plan built against the West Wall of Apollonia was excavated and slightly restored by the Libyan Department of Antiquities under the directorship of the late Professor Goodchild during the sixties. In 1967 the present writer, then architect to the Michigan Apollonia Expedition, was commissioned to make a set of drawings of the monument as a basis for its publication by Professor Goodchild to appear in the Michigan Report. Professor Goodchild's untimely death in 1968 nullified the project and eventually in its stead only a cursory notice of the monument appeared. The substantive treatment of the monument, utilising the prepared set of drawings, was reserved for the long laboured Corpus of Christian Antiquities of Cyrenaica. Unfortunately in turn this design was frustrated by the death of Professor Ward Perkins in 1986 so that the detailed drawings of the monument remained unpublished for 25 years. In 1991 old prints of the drawings were recovered and are published here with a commentary.

This small square monument with a dome on four pillars giving a rudimentary cross-in-square plan is of late sixth century date. It is clearly sepulchral, whether it be a simple tomb or a martyrion. Thus in spite of its provincial guise it is of interest and significance (together with the Church at Qasr el Lebia) in the long vexed question of the origins of the ecumenical Byzantine cross-in-square plan.
Pittura Funeraria Antica in Cirenaica
Authors: Bacchielli di Lidiano
Published: February 2016

With the exception of two epigraphic references and a surviving example at Ptolemais, paintings have vanished from the ancient buildings of Cyrenaica along with the walls that supported them. Only the rock-cut tombs offer a rich conspectus of funerary paintings from Hellenistic to early Christian times. These attracted the attention of several early travellers and archaeologists, but they have never been the object of detailed interpretative study.

Here an account is given of ten painted tombs, beginning with the Hellenistic ‘Tomb of the Swing’ at Cyrene, the painted metopes of which are now in the Musée du Louvre. Roman imperial occupation of Hellenistic tombs at Cyrene is represented by the Tomb of the veteran Gaius Ammonius. Several tombs at Cyrene were decorated in late antiquity; here the tomb of the Good Shepherd and the Tomb of Demetria are discussed. Of particular interest are the late Roman tombs in rural sites such as Beit Ammer and Zawiet Asgafa, in which classical myth and Homeric epic are treated, the products of a culture still nourished by the remote past.
Recent Excavations at Lepcis Magna
Authors: Walda H. M.
Published: February 2016

Lepcis Magna is one of the best examples of an African city during the Roman period. Its importance lies in its location in relation to the Mediterranean and the well-watered hinterland of Tripolitania and its resources. The key factor in the development of the city was its position, sheltered by a promontory, at the mouth of Wadi Lebda. It displays the processes of growth which other Roman town-plans have made familiar: a nuclear chessboard with divergent though mostly rectilinear enlargements. Lepcis became more important than the other two ports of Oea and Sabratha.

Wealthy private citizens contributed greatly toward the buildings of the first century. In the second century the Libyan S. Severus became Emperor at a time when a lively and independent culture was growing up in the western part of North Africa. Lepcis attained its greatest architectural glories under S. Severus and his two sons. With the decline of seaborne trade that followed the serious economic crises at the end of the third century, raids by the tribes of the interior became bolder and more ruthless.
The Macroscopic Plant Remains from Euesperides (Benghazi): an interim report
Authors: Pelling Ruth , al Hassy Saleh
Published: February 2016

Recent excavations at the Greco-Libyan site of Euesperides, Benghazi, have included a sampling programme for the retrieval of macroscopic plant remains. Preliminary results are now available and help to shed some light on the economy of the site between the sixth and the third centuries BC. Barley is the principal cereal crop recorded, while both hulled and free-threshing wheats are present. Fruit remains generally dominate the samples and include frequent seeds of grape and fig. The grape pips are of interest in that they appear to be morphologically more wild than cultivated. It is thought that they may be of a variety which does not conform with the characteristics of better known northern Mediterranean varieties of grape.
More Tethering Stones
Authors: Berger Friedrich
Published: February 2016

A stone for tethering animals was noted on the track from Ghadamis to Al Awaynat, about 50 km SSE of Ghadamis, and is reported here, together with a group of hearths.
Boreum, an Educational Resource
Authors: Preece Chris
Published: February 2016

The purpose of this paper is to record the involvement of primary-age children from a Libyan-administered school in Marsa-el-Brega in basic archaeological practice, both in the classroom and in the field. The site of Boreum (as identified by Goodchild in 1951), which is in an area adjacent to the school, was used for fieldwork. As well as describing the methodology that was applied, the outcome of the work at Boreum is recorded, in the hope that it will be shown that not only is such practice viable, but also that the results can make a small but useful contribution to our knowledge of such sites.
The Ptolemaic ruler as a religious figure in Cyrenaica
Authors: Marquaille Céline
Published: February 2016

This article examines the particularities of Ptolemaic power outside Egypt through the religious activities of the Ptolemies in Cyrenaica. Since evidence is scarce on the direct administration of this Ptolemaic possession between 321 and 96 BC, the study of the royal cult and the relations between the Ptolemies and traditional cults of the city provides valuable insight on the nature of the dialogue between the king and the cities. It is clear from the available evidence that cult structures already existing in Egypt strongly included Cyrenaica in the Ptolemaic space. But the participation of the city in the royal cult and the flexibility of the royal language of power show that imperialistic views fail to fully explain both the longevity of Ptolemaic power in Cyrenaica and the necessity for the Ptolemies to legitimise their power even in a territory under direct administration.
Monitoring vegetation change in desert oases by remote sensing; a case study in the Libyan Fazzān
Authors: White Kevin , Brooks Nick , Drake Nick , Charlton Mathew , MacLaren Sue
Published: February 2016

Desert oases are undergoing rapid changes in response to environmental, economic and social pressures. The Wādī al-Hayāt, in the Libyan Fazzān, illustrates these changes and exemplifies some of the processes at work. Human activity in the area is dependent on groundwater extraction. Introduction of mechanical pumps and modern irrigation technology has enabled significant expansion of irrigated area, but environmental problems have arisen as a result. Geoarchaeological studies have demonstrated that groundwater levels have fallen over the latter half of the Holocene. Large decreases have occurred since 1970 as a result of abstraction for agricultural, domestic and industrial use. This study uses aerial photographs from 1958 and Landsat imagery from 1987, 1999 and 2000 to map changes in the area under irrigation in the Wādī al-Hayāt. We find a general southwards migration of oasis agriculture within the Wādī, as vegetation has died in the northern part of the Wādī and irrigation extended to the south. A significant amount of inter-annual change in vegetation cover is identified, indicating the need to account for seasonal cropping practices when monitoring for longer-term changes.
Dating the Ptolemaic city-foundations in Cyrenaica. A brief note
Authors: Mueller Katja
Published: February 2016

This article discusses the origin of the three dynastic settlements, which the Ptolemies (re) founded in Cyrenaica: Arsinoe-Taucheira, Ptolemais near Barca and Berenike near Euesperides. The evidence for the dating of the foundation of Ptolemais is re-examined and a papyrological text introduced, which has so far been ignored by previous scholars. This text unambiguously attests citizens of Ptolemais near Barca as early as 252 BC in Egypt. It refutes the commonly accepted argument that all three Ptolemaic cities were founded under Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-221 BC) and within the same framework of administrative-political concerns. It will be suggested that Ptolemy I Soter had the motifs, opportunity and resources to found Ptolemais as early as the end of the fourth century BC. Several papyri further emphasise that despite the almost simultaneous demise of Euesperides and rise of Berenike nearby, ethnic designations for these two cities were simultaneously in use throughout Ptolemaic Egypt until at least the end of the third century BC.
Euesperides (Benghazi): preliminary report on the spring 2004 season
Authors: Wilson Andrew , Bennett Paul , Buzaian Ahmed , Fell Vanessa , Found Ben , Göransson Kristian , Guinness Abby , Hardy Jamal , Harris Kerry , Helm Richard , Kattenberg Alette , Megías Estíbaliz Tébar , Morley Geoffrey , Murphy Adrian , Swift Keith , Twyman Jessica , Wootton William , Zimi Eleni
Published: February 2016

This article reports on the sixth season of the ongoing project at Euesperides (Benghazi). Excavation in Area P established the date of construction of the penultimate phase (and therefore of the plain pebble mosaic with inscription published last year) as 300-282 BC, following the abandonment and demolition of the antepenultimate phase beneath it. An area used for the preparation and cutting of the materials employed in the final-phase mosaics has been identified. In Area Q the dismantling of the street sequence was completed, and the W building fronting the street found to date from the fifth century BC. In Area R the crushed deposits ofMurexshell were removed and working surfaces associated with purple dye production defined. Geological investigations to the west of the city revealed a possible location for the ancient harbour, and showed that the waterlogged deposits of the former sebkha are a good source for further palaeoenvironmental research.

Study of the finds also continued. Further work on reconstructing the design of the final phase mosaic in Area P suggests a central motif probably of two dolphins set within a wave-crest surround. The initial results of the analysis of the mosaic samples taken from the final-phase Building A are presented. The study of the wall plaster fragments was begun, enabling some preliminary observations on the decoration. New forms of local black glaze pots have been recovered this year along with fineware imports from Attica, Corinth, East Greece, south Italy and the Punic world throwing light on the interrelations between Euesperides and the Mediterranean world from the fifth to third centuries BC. Full quantification of the coarse pottery assemblages continued this season, doubling the dataset of fully recorded pottery, whilst detailed analysis of vessel forms and their variations identified production techniques and chronological developments of vessel shapes within the local and imported wares. The study of the amphorae identified more Punic amphorae and an unusual basket-handled amphora which may be of Cypriot origin. Initial assessments of environmental and faunal remains were conducted.
James Hamilton in Tripoli, 1855–1856. The strange sequel toWanderings in North Africa
Authors: Wright G. R. H.
Published: February 2016

A short note was published in the 1999 volume ofLibyan Studieswith the title ‘Cyrene. Other Men's Memories’. This note proceeded on the circumstances that virtually all early participants in the exploration and excavation of Cyrene, being adventurous men in an expansive age, carried memories of Cyrene to distant parts of the world. James Hamilton, the author of the travel-book,Wanderings in North Africawas included in the roll call of these men. However, it was observed that, exceptionally, nothing could be stated with certainty about him after his journey through Cyrenaica to Egypt (or for that matter, before his arrival in Cyrenaica). Therefore instead of referring to his later memories of Cyrene, note was taken of very unusual memories which he records came to him while in Cyrene. Recently, documentary information concerning Hamilton has come to light, and it is now possible to speak reliably about his activities in the years immediately following his travels to Cyrenaica. In this way it can be said that his immediate memories of Cyrene had the most untoward and unexpected setting imaginable.
Consul-General Hanmer Warrington and the Old Protestant Cemetery in Tripoli, Libya
Authors: Thorn Dorothy
Published: February 2016

The charismatic Consul-General Hanmer Warrington held his post in Tripoli for thirty-two years, during which time he cultivated a good, if tempestuous, working relationship with the Bashaw and the other foreign consuls. The large Warrington family was raised there. When they outgrew the Consulate building, which dated from 1774, the Consul designed a country house, and had it built two miles outside the town. It was near this house, and by the sea, that in 1830 he and the other consuls founded a walled Protestant Cemetery for the burial mainly of Europeans. This cemetery was rediscovered and studied by Abdulhakeem Amer Tweel of Tripoli, who is in the process of publishing a book on the subject.
Dancing girls and insect-headed gods: results of the rock art recording project in the Wadi al-Hayat, Fazzan, 2006
Authors: Barnett Tertia
Published: February 2016

The 2006 rock art survey continued the systematic identification and recording of rock art panels in the Wadi al-Hayat, started in 2004–5. Over 350 carved panels, comprising well over 1000 engraved images, were recorded and added to the digital database for the project. Anecdotal accounts of rock paintings were also followed up, and some meaningful observations were made.

As the concentration of known carvings in the wadi grows, trends in their content and distribution begin to demonstrate some interesting patterns. Detailed analysis of the distribution patterns is currently hampered by an unreliable chronological sequence, and discoveries this season have cast doubt on the validity of the established sequence for this area, with wider implications for Saharan rock art.
A Forgotten Press Building at Lamluda
Authors: Buzaian Ahmed Mustapha
Published: February 2016

Presented here are the preliminary results of the unfinished excavations conducted by Richard Goodchild in the late 1950s at Lamluda, east of Cyrene on the upper plateau of the Jebel Akhdar. One of the most interesting discoveries was a well-preserved press complex comprising a press and series of associated rooms, including a storage magazine. The evidence indicates that the complex was probably used for producing wine rather than olive oil; it appears to be of Late Roman or more likely of sixth-century date. This date is indicated by a reused stone bearing three faint carved Maltese crosses found incorporated within Room A. It is clear that parts of the complex were later modified; it is tempting to relate this later activity to continued occupation of the site after the Arab conquest.
The Cyrenaican Prehistory Project 2009: the third season of investigations of the Haua Fteah cave and its landscape, and further results from the 2007–2008 fieldwork
Authors: Barker Graeme , Antoniadou Annita , Barton Huw , Brooks Ian , Candy Ian , Drake Nicholas , Farr Lucy , Hunt Chris , Ibrahim Abdulsaid Abdulhamid , Inglis Robyn , Jones Sacha , Morales Jacob , Morley Iain , Mutri Giuseppina , Rabett Ryan , Reynolds Tim , Simpson David , Twati Mohammed , White Kevin
Published: February 2016

The paper reports on the third (2009) season of fieldwork of the Cyrenaican Prehistory Project, and on further results from the analysis of materials collected in the previous (2007 and 2008) fieldwork. Sediments in a 14 m-deep core drilled beside the McBurney trench provide an invaluable overview of the overall stratigraphic sequence, including at depths reached by the 1950s Deep Sounding but not yet investigated by the present project. Sampling of newly-exposed faces of the original excavation trench for dating (14C, ESR, OSL, U-series) and palaeoenvirommental indicators continued. Excavation was begun of sediments assigned to the early Holocene Libyco-Capsian (McBurney's Layer X), and of Pre-Aurignacian layers beside the top of the Deep Sounding. The Libyco-Capsian layers are particularly prolific in lithic debris, shells, and animal bones; preliminary analysis of the lithics suggests a development from Typical to Upper Capsian within the layers excavated in 2009. Geoarchaeological survey along the littoral to the west and east of the Haua Fteah identified complex sequences spanning most of the last interglacial-glacial cycle. Geoarchaeological survey south of the Haua Fteah characterized the major landforms of the Gebel Akhdar mountain and of the pre-desert and desert-edge zones further south, with Late Stone Age (Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic) material being found especially on the southern side of the Gebel Akhdar, and Middle Stone Age (Middle Palaeolithic) material in the pre-desert and desert regions. The first suite of14C dates (from charcoal samples taken in 2007) indicates the use of the Haua Fteah by Oranian hunter-gatherers during the Last Glacial Maximum and in the succeeding millennia, but not in the Younger Dryas cold/dry phase (c. 11,000–10,000 cal. BC), with Libyco-Capsian occupation resuming soon after the beginning of the Holocenec. 9000 cal. BC, suggesting that the cave, and perhaps the Gebel Akhdar in general, have a complex history as refugia for human settlement during the Pleistocene.
The Western Marmarica Coastal Survey 2009: preliminary report
Authors: Hulin Linda , Timby Jane , Mutri Giuseppina
Published: February 2016

The 2009 season of the Western Marmarica Coastal Survey continued to document the settlement profile of the coastal area east of Tobruk, focussing upon the area around Marsa Lukk. Rock art was documented in the Wadi el-'Ayn and a number of Early-Mid Holocene sites were located there and to the west of Marsa Lukk. The survey continued to locate kiln sites of the Mid-Late Roman period. Two fortified sites were documented, spanning the Late Roman to Early Islamic period.
A Token of Personal Religion brought to Cyrenec.525 BC
Authors: Wright G. R. H.
Published: February 2016

This paper reconsiders a scarab seal inscribed in the Cypriote syllabary and acquired at Cyrene in the mid-nineteenth century by the French consul Vattier de Bourville. The circumstances and period of its acquisition rule out the possibility of forgery, and the scarab is stylistically datable to the late sixth century BC. The flight of Queen Pheretima to Cyprus, and her subsequent return to Cyrene, are suggested as a possible context in which the seal may have arrived at Cyrene—perhaps as a token of personal religion of the queen herself. The seal shows Bes as Master of the Animals, reflecting a fusion of Levantine and Egyptian influences in Cypriote iconography.
Hadrian and the Renewal of Cyrene
Authors: Walker Susan
Published: February 2016

This paper examines the impact on Cyrene of the Jewish Revolt of AD 115/6. Cyrene was particularly vulnerable to attack because of its status as regional capital and its inland location. The task of regeneration fell to Hadrian. Besides reconstructing buildings key to the resumption of Roman public life, Hadrian sent colonists to Cyrenaica, and exhorted the surviving population to assume the burden of reconstruction. By the late Antonine era, the population was restored and Cyrene entirely redeveloped in a striking amalgam of the latest fashions in architectural design and a deliberately conservative evocation of the city's Dorian origins.
A late mid-Roman African red slip ware lamp from Sabratha and lamp production at Djilma (central Tunisia)
Authors: Mackensen Michael
Published: February 2016

A central Tunisian red slip ware lamp from Sabratha, published by D. M. Bailey in 1994, should be classified as Type Salomonson I/Atlante I. Its discus decoration is a personification of Autumn, a standing female figure with a basket of fruit as a seasonal attribute and a Cupid (Eros) sitting on it. The prototype of the moulded decoration motif appears as an appliqué on a Hayes 171 el-Aouja sigillata jug of C1 quality. The lamp, which probably dates from the third quarter of the third century or the late third century AD, was subjected to chemical analysis and comparison with recently published reference groups from central Tunisian pottery-making centres showed that it was made at the central Tunisian fine-ware potteries at Henchir el Guellal near Djilma. A/D and C1-C4 sigillata as well as Type Atlante IV A, VI B, VII A1, VII A2 and VIII C1a lamps were produced there from about the second quarter of the third century until the mid fifth century AD.
Euesperides (Benghazi): Preliminary report on the Spring 2002 season
Authors: Wilson Andrew , Bennett Paul , Buzaian Ahmed , Buttrey Ted , Göransson Kristian , Hall Cassian , Kattenberg Alette , Scott Rebecca , Swift Keith , Zimi Eleni
Published: February 2016

The fourth season of the current project at Euesperides (Benghazi) took place in Spring 2002. Excavations continued in Areas P, Q and R, accompanied by limited augering work to determine the limits of surviving archaeology to the south of the Sidi Abeid mound. Excavations in Area P revealed part of a courtyard house from the penultimate phase of the site, with a probableandronandgunaikon. Its destruction is dated to after 261 BC. In Area Q work concentrated on the dismantling of street deposits and associated flanking houses from the later phases of the city's life; a soakaway drainage feature under the street was also investigated. The sequence of city wall circuits and their post-abandonment robbing was clarified. In Area R excavations established the structure of the mound of deposits deriving from the production of purple dye fromMurex trunculusshellfish, and its relationship to the robbed-out walls of the courtyard building within which this activity occurred. The processing of ceramic finds underlines the active trading contacts enjoyed by Euesperides, with most of the fine pottery and a fifth of the coarse pottery being imported from overseas, and transport amphorae ranging in origin from the Straits of Gibraltar to the northern Aegean. The coin finds confirm that the city was abandoned after the death of Magas (258/250 BC); and it appears that the Herakles types, common at the site, were minted there under Thibron (323–322/322 BC).
Euesperides (Benghazi): Preliminary report on the spring 2000 season
Authors: Bennett Paul , Wilson Andrew I. , Buzaian Ahmed , Hamilton Kenneth , Thorpe David , Robertson Dale , Zimi Eleni
Published: February 2016

This paper reports on the second season of the new fieldwork at Euesperides (Benghazi). Excavations continued in Areas P (a large building with early Hellenistic mosaics) and Q (an area of streets and buildings built against the line of the Archaic period city wall), and were commenced at a site in the Lower City (Area R), where evidence for purple dye production from the Murex trunculus shellfish was found. In addition, a programme of machine-cut evaluation trenching was carried out in an area to the south of the Sidi Abeid mound to determine the limits of the archaeological area; this showed that occupation deposits continued for some distance to the south-east of the zone formerly considered to have encompassed the city. Geophysical prospection was completed in the Lower City, giving a fuller understanding of the city plan and of manufacturing activities. Preliminary quantification of the fine pottery suggests heavy reliance on imported wares (some 90%) to meet demand for tablewares, and carries important implications for the volume of ancient shipping and trade reaching Euesperides.
Archaic Greek colonies in Libya: historicalvs.archaeological chronologies?
Authors: James Peter
Published: February 2016

The presently accepted ceramic chronology places the earliest episodes of Greek colonisation in Libya some three to four decades earlier than the traditional historical dates. A similar offset between the archaeological and historical chronologies can be seen at Naukratis and other Archaic Greek sites. A review of ‘fixed points’ for Archaic dating shows that the balance of evidence now strongly favours a reduction of late seventh to early sixth century BC Greek ceramic chronology by three to four decades. Such a reduction would bring harmony between the archaeological and historical pictures for the founding of the Cyrenaican colonies, restoring confidence in the account given by Herodotus.
A killing in Tripoli (1843): principle and contingency and personal diplomacy
Authors: Pennell C. R.
Published: February 2016

This article examines the trial in 1843 and 1844 of Giovanni Battista Caruana, a Maltese, for the murder of a Jew in Tripoli. He was found guilty but was not executed because the victim's impoverished wife agreed to accept compensation. The case took place against the background of the British government's increasing impatience with what they saw as uncontrolled Maltese and Ionian communities, leading to the enactment of the Foreign Jurisdiction Act of 1844. It also demonstrated the importance of the individual authority of the Consul, Hanmer Warrington, and the extent to which consuls' personal objectives and opinions weighed on the development of British policy, and the extent to which Warrington's concern to uphold the law coincided with that of the Pasha of Tripoli, so that the case led to a close identification between the local government and the British consular representative.
Aerial photographs of Sabratha and Garian
Authors: Wilson Andrew
Published: February 2016

This note presents five aerial photographs of Sabratha, and one of Garian, which formerly belonged to C. N. Johns and were recently discovered amongst the papers of John Lloyd. The aerial photographs of Sabratha shed some new light on the town's size and development.
Cyrene Papers: The First Report. The Documents
Authors: Uhlenbrock Jaimee P.
Published: February 2016

Over the course of the last nine years, a large number of documents have come to light that chronicle more fully American interest in Cyrenaica in the 1880s and in the first two decades of this century. The documents mainly pertain to the 1910–1911 archaeological excavation of Cyrene by Richard Norton on behalf of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Archaeological Institute of America, during the course of which Herbert Fletcher DeCou, staff epigrapher, was fatally shot. But the material also refers to hitherto unnoticed American visits to Cyrenaica for archaeological purposes in 1883 and 1887, as well as the first official American expedition in the spring of 1909. While some of these papers are already well known and also have been the source of several studies regarding the murder of DeCou, most of the material has remained largely unexplored by scholars interested in Cyrenaica. For this reason they are presented here with the expectation that future articles on specific aspects of the Cyrene papers will be forthcoming shortly.