The Maghrib has a rich tradition of archaeological studies. However, this research has been biased from the chronological and cultural points of view. This is due to different reasons, relating to both the nature of the archaeological record and the ideological and political circumstances that developed successively under colonial rule and, from the mid-twentieth century, in the modern independent states of the area.

In general, comparatively little attention has been paid to the indigenous cultures of the pre-Roman period, in particular as regards dwelling sites, which generally underlie thick stratigraphic deposits of later periods. The situation is somewhat different with regard to funerary archaeology, as North Africa, especially its eastern portion, is characterised by the existence of a surprising number and diversity of pre-Roman sepulchral monuments.

The distribution of funerary stone structures in the Saharan landscape has been a subject of interest for the Italian-Libyan Archaeological Mission in the Tadrart Akakus and Massak since the early ’90sThis archaeological evidence gave witness to an enduring human settlement, lasting at least from the Pastoral period to Proto-historical times, and played an important role in the definition of the cultural identities of the local groups,while representing a source of information about population features and dynamics.In the twentieth century, only a few excavations were carried out in cemeteries located in Fazzan. In 1997, as part of an interdisciplinary project focused on Holocene environment and human settlement until the rise of the Garamantian civilisation, our mission started a systematic survey and excavation of funerary structures in the Wadi Tanzzuft. The 2004–06 investigation of Fewet necropolis needs to be viewed in this framework.

Theprevious chapterintroduced the Garamantes, an ancient Saharan people, whose story can be traced archaeologically through the first millennium BC and first millennium AD (see also Figs 1.1and1.2 for location maps). This chapter presents evidence on the funerary practices of the Garamantian heartlands in the Wadi al-Ajal in the Libyan Fazzan (Central Sahara). The Wadi al-Ajal is a long and thin oasis depression running for c.150 km from al-Abyad (to the south-west of Fazzan’s modern capital at Sabha) to Ubari. Our work has been particularly focused on the area around Jarma (ancient Garama, the Garamantian capital about 40 km east of Ubari). The burials in these Garamantian heartlands differ in certain significant ways from those recorded by the Italian mission at Aghram Nadharif and Fewet, and an interesting aspect of the discussion we shall develop below seeks to explain this difference.

Theprevious chapterintroduced the Garamantes, an ancient Saharan people, whose story can be traced archaeologically through the first millennium BC and first millennium AD (see also Figs 1.1and1.2 for location maps). This chapter presents evidence on the funerary practices of the Garamantian heartlands in the Wadi al-Ajal in the Libyan Fazzan (Central Sahara). The Wadi al-Ajal is a long and thin oasis depression running for c.150 km from al-Abyad (to the south-west of Fazzan’s modern capital at Sabha) to Ubari. Our work has been particularly focused on the area around Jarma (ancient Garama, the Garamantian capital about 40 km east of Ubari). The burials in these Garamantian heartlands differ in certain significant ways from those recorded by the Italian mission at Aghram Nadharif and Fewet, and an interesting aspect of the discussion we shall develop below seeks to explain this difference.

Despite more than 150 years of archaeological research in the Maghrib and the Sahara, it is still difficult to establish a universally accepted chronological framework for Moroccan protohistory. While it is generally agreed that its beginning corresponds with the appearance of metal objects around the start of the third millennium BC, its end is much more imprecise, vague and uncertain. The Mediterranean littoral and its hinterland first entered written history around the eighth century BC, at the date of the earliest evidence for a Phoenician presence. However, the other continental regions of Morocco were not part of this schema. These areas were at the margins of ancient knowledge. During the centuries of the ‘Phoenician presence’, only the urban centres changed their character; the countryside, on the other hand, retained a protohistoric lifestyle.

The Maghrib has a rich tradition of archaeological studies. However, this research has been biased from the chronological and cultural points of view. This is due to different reasons, relating to both the nature of the archaeological record and the ideological and political circumstances that developed successively under colonial rule and, from the mid-twentieth century, in the modern independent states of the area.

In general, comparatively little attention has been paid to the indigenous cultures of the pre-Roman period, in particular as regards dwelling sites, which generally underlie thick stratigraphic deposits of later periods. The situation is somewhat different with regard to funerary archaeology, as North Africa, especially its eastern portion, is characterised by the existence of a surprising number and diversity of pre-Roman sepulchral monuments.

Interaction between the peoples of northern Africa has thrived for millennia; isotopic analysis of skeletal remains is an excellent method to examine this interface and better understand the associated social implications. Here, we discuss the applicability of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope analysis to osteological specimens. These elements, characterised by geological, locale-specific, atomic ratios, are incorporated into human dental enamel during young adulthood and into bone continuously via food and/or water. This information can then be compared to the individual’s place of burial and, thus, can infer mobility and identity.

Specifically, we address migration between Egypt and Nubia during various periods. The Upper Nubian archaeological site of Tombos, located on the Third Cataract of the Nile in modern Sudan (Fig. 7.1), functioned as an Egyptian colonial outpost during the New Kingdom Period (1550–1069 BC).

Situated in the hinterland of the eastern Niger Bend in north-east Burkina Faso (Fig. 12.1), in the so-called Gourma area (that is, the bush-land on the right bank of the Niger River), the archaeological site of Kissi consists of an extensive cluster of adjacent settlement areas, including several burial grounds (Fig. 12.2). Its occupation during almost the whole Iron Age (c.third century BC to twelfth century AD) provides the opportunity to follow certain developments that local society underwent over more than a millennium. Spreading over an area of more than 300 hectares, the archaeological site lies on the northern shore of the Mare de Kissi (see Fig. 12.2), a small rainwater-fed lake, similar to – though smaller than – several other lakes in this region (that is, Mare d’Oursi c.35 km to the west, Mare de Darkoy c.6 km to the north, or Mare de Markoye c.15 km to the east, to name but the largest).

Despite more than 150 years of archaeological research in the Maghrib and the Sahara, it is still difficult to establish a universally accepted chronological framework for Moroccan protohistory. While it is generally agreed that its beginning corresponds with the appearance of metal objects around the start of the third millennium BC, its end is much more imprecise, vague and uncertain. The Mediterranean littoral and its hinterland first entered written history around the eighth century BC, at the date of the earliest evidence for a Phoenician presence. However, the other continental regions of Morocco were not part of this schema. These areas were at the margins of ancient knowledge. During the centuries of the ‘Phoenician presence’, only the urban centres changed their character; the countryside, on the other hand, retained a protohistoric lifestyle.