Synthesis: Vol 1

A detailed report, the first in a series of four, of two Anglo-Libyan projects carried out in the Fazzan region of southwest Libya. This volume outlines the history of the area, the work of Charles Daniels in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and the most recent project directed by David Mattingly. The aims of the project are matched by the sections of this report and include syntheses of survey and excavation evidence for the geography, climate, hydrology and environment, as well as archaeological and historical data. Individual chapters also focus on the field-walking carried out from 1997 to 2000, the evidence for fortifications, settlements and domestic architecture, religious and funerary structures, irrigation technologies, rock art and inscriptions, ending with a summary of human activities in Fazzan from the palaeolithic to early modern period.
‘An extraordinary civilisation emerged on the very margins of the Classical world in the remote Libyan desert. This is a vital study of a society at the crossroads between the Mediterranean and continental Africa.’ (Professor Michael Fulford, University of Reading)
‘The Garamantes have emerged from the shadows. This study of the Fazzan from remotest antiquity to the present day is striking for the extent and range of the enquiry, the meticulousness of its documentation, and the clarity of its exposition. The completed volumes will immediately become the standard work on the region, and seem unlikely ever to be superseded.’ (Professor Roger Wilson, University of Nottingham)

An extraordinary civilisation emerged on the very margins of the Classical world in the remote Libyan desert. Informed by new fieldwork this brilliant survey explores the prehistoric origins and development of Garamantian society and how it was influenced by changing environmental conditions and the availability of water. This is a vital study of a society at the crossroads between the Mediterranean and continental Africa. --Professor M. Fulford, University of Reading

The Garamantes have emerged from the shadows. This study of the Fazzan from remotest antiquity to the present day, including the area formerly occupied by the once powerful but little-known Garamantes peoples, is striking for the extent and range of the enquiry, the meticulousness of its documentation, and the clarity of its exposition. And this is a mere hors d'oeuvre for the feast of detailed evidence that is to come. The completed volumes will immediately become the standard work on this remote region, and seem unlikely ever to be superseded. --Professor R. J. A. Wilson, University of Nottingham