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The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey VII: An Interim Classification and Functional Analysis of Ancient Wall Technology and Land Use

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2015

D. D. Gilbertson ,
P. P. Hayes ,
G. W. W. Barker  and
C. O. Hunt
D. D. Gilbertson
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Sheffield
P. P. Hayes
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Sheffield
G. W. W. Barker
Affiliation:
British School at Rome
C. O. Hunt
Affiliation:
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Sheffield
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Abstract

Interpretations of ancient wall-technologies in the Libyan pre-desert are briefly reviewed. The forms, patterns, distributions and geological/geomorphic/hydrologic relationships of walls in a series of study areas are described and interpreted with the aid of a new, non-genetic, ‘wall-technology’ classification. The remarkable hydrological and geomorphic insights of their constructors are clear. Several wall types are shown to have been primarily concerned with functions other than water control, although this aspect is usually dominant. In some cases the location of the walls appears to have been likely to exacerbate the perennial problems of soil erosion and gullying, in others walls appear to have been constructed specifically to control soil erosion. These data have implications for reconstructing past land use and evaluating the degree of success or failure experienced in particular situations.

Type
Articles
Information
Libyan Studies , Volume 15 , 1984 , pp. 45 - 70
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Libyan Studies 1984

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