November 2003
By comparing the Lansad TM+ satellite image
band 8 (14 m resolution) with the calibrated Marchesi's map (1932),
I discovered in the old Italian map a systematic error in the
position of the major landmarks that is approximately equal to 1.450
meters in the 70° N direction. "La Botte", a conspicuous
residual hill featured by a cylindrical shape, located to the Est of
Gebel Uweinat, demonstrated irrefutably the error affecting the map.
To compile a modern map in GIS we had to build a file with the
topographic names, a shapefile embedding all the database of place
names. A god map can be compared to a cake with many layers.
Obviously the place names layer is very important. Place names
officially recognized in the region are surprisingly few; it is like
there was no authority on this marvelous "monad-lock"
massif, unfortunately partitioned among three nation. We consulted
also the military maps compiled by US cartographer in behalf of the
Egyptian Survey, not accessible to the general public; they contain
very few place names. We had to be satisfied of the beautiful but
poorly detailed maps drawn during the '30 years by the Italian and
English explorers. Some place names, let us say the official ones,
were thus collected from the R. Bagnold (1934) map, published by the
Survey of Egypt. Others place names were collected from the IGM map
compiled by the Capitain O. Marchesi (1932). Therefore, apart the
few Arabs place names inherited from the camel caravans tradition,
the names in our database are mainly Italians; obviously you will
not find them on the post WWII map published in Egypt or Libya.
"Cima Marchesi" is an exception found on the Russian maps.
Of course, you will never find Punta Mussolini or Cima Graziani,
un-official entitlement of some peaks in Libyan Uweinat that date
back to the 1935 (contrary of what is written on same sources they
are not present on the original Marchesi's map).
Anyway, the most fascinating names are from the Tebu language; we
got them from the scientific papers by Lieutenant Enrico De Agostini
and Professor Umberto Monterin, whom made friendships with their
Tebu guides, probably Tebu people born in Cufra. The last names I
included in my shapefile are recent names like the "Van Noten
Cave" or the "White Blob" (A. Zaborah, 2003). Please,
pardon me if in my home-made map I posted the "Valle Incantata";
I was the first westerner to walk on this forgotten corner. While
waiting for official place names we are allowed to have some fun.
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