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Emeri IV 1-07-2011 Part of the results of the EMERI IV expedition has been published on the Sahara Journal N22: Alessandro Menardi Noguera and András Zboray. Rock art in the landscape setting of the western Jebel Uweinat (Libya) Lenka Suková. The "Venus" of Jebel Uweinat (SE Libya) The first paper is devoted to the a large number of newly reported rock art sites. The second part describes a statuette found near Aind Doua proving a direct link with the cattle herder peoples that lived near the Third Cataract on the Nile at the end of the fifth millennium. En extremely exciting finds. Obviously it was a superficial find (no excavation). The statuette has been handed over to the Libyan archaeological authorities in Tripoli, just before the civil war erupted.
1-10-2010 In 2005 we started the systematic exploration for rock art of the western sector of the Jebel Uweinat (Libya). It was the beginning of the Emeri Project. We started from the elevated regions of the Libyan Uweinat, at the time unexplored, with no reported site. After three expedition the situation was changed. A number of sites were documented, studied and published on the Sahara Journal, the leading scientific international magazine devoted to the history and prehistory of the Sahara.
Our research project was carried out during the years as a parallel and coordinated effort with the project conceived by Andras Zboray, a leading independent rock art researcher, well known for his endeavours. Particularly remarkable is the Andras' compilation of a comprehensive atlas of the Libyan Desert rock art.
As Sahara lovers and independent researchers in history and prehistory we dispose of few means and no founds but a lot of resolution. We deliberately decided to not carry wiith us people interested in pure tourism only. Thsu we tried to build our team with dedicated travellers. Heterogeneity of interests among fellows in Saharan travelling is the perfect recipe for disaster.
The 2010 decade was one of big developments in desert tourism for the Eastern Sahara. At the beginning, the Eastern Sahara was nearly neglected, than become increasingly popular as more classic and attractive areas closed beacause of political troubles. Rock art hunting, originally the humble work of amateur researchers, progressively became the sport of the richest and the snobs. But why should people look for rock art sites if they are not endowed with the willingness of studying and doing also the related hard work? The fashion was started with the reporting of the big painted shelter of Wadi Sora by the Foggini, Father & Son.
It was certainly an important discovery but it was an even more important business for professional tour operators that followed on the Foggini's steps. Unfortunately for us, by the awkward Fogginis' move of imposing theirs family name to the shelter, other people understood that rock art hunting is all about entering the hall of fame (this made the fortune of some small tour operator). People travelling in our neglected corner of desert increased, the business too. In the process also professional scientists were annoyed by tourists in their once lonely preserves. After some years of running bussines, money and rich people attracted kidnappers and robbers to the Uweinat massif. A safety issue quicly arise. After the 2008 kidnap of a large international group of tourists travelling to Karkur Talh, it became practically impossible to enter the Sudanese Uweinat from Egypt without fears and without paying a large sum for protection. The preferred play ground of the latest travellers converted to the rock art hunting sport was lost. Suddenly independent travelling became impossible while tour operators started to exploit the far less attractive and lucrative Libyan Uweinat. It was like the story of an African drying pond... Emeri IV -November 2010 - Next
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