This article reports on the fifth season of the ongoing project at Euesperides (Benghazi). Excavation in Area P'confirmed a date of 261-250 BC for the destruction of the penultimate phase and the construction of the final phase, with mosaics of mixed pebble and irregular tesserae. An inscription was discovered on the mosaic of the penultimate phase; and some rooms of the preceding phase were investigated. In Area Q the dismantling of the street sequence continued, together with the investigation of houses fronting the street, and the evidence for the lines of different phases of the city defences. Outside the line of the latest defences, excavation in an ancient quarry ditch revealed a refuse deposit rich in ceramics and organic materials. In Area R the rooms surrounding the courtyard were defined, and the latest phases of Murex purple dye production were investigated. At the request of the Municipality and the Department of Antiquities of Benghazi, evaluation trenches were cut to assess the impact of proposed developments on the archaeological remains south and east of the city.

Study of the finds also continued. Work began on reconstructing the design of the final phase mosaic in Area P, the central motif of which was probably a dolphin, within a wave-crest surround. Analysis of the coarsewares demonstrated that between 40-60% of third-century BC coarsewares at the site were imported, many from areas of the Punic world; this suggests active and regular trading networks. Study of the amphorae revealed that forms of Corinthian B amphorae were produced at Euesperides.

The fortifications of the Hellenistic and Roman city of Tocra are over 2 km long (including the sea-wall) and comprise a curtain wall up to 2 m wide flanked by 31 rectangular towers. Three main structural phases were noted in the survey carried out in 1966 by David Smith: (1) Hellenistic walls of isodomic ashlar, (2) later Hellenistic work of isodomic ashlar with bevelled edges, associated with the indented trace along the south rampart, and (3) an extensive rebuild of plain ashlar blocks including the towers and reconstruction to the East and West Gates, dateable, on the basis of Procopius, to the reign of Justinian. The general significance of the fortifications at Tocra is considered in the second part: these include the Hellenistic indented trace along the south side, later reinforced by towers in the sixth century AD. Also of wider importance was the use of an outer wall or proteichisma, and the pentagonal, pointed towers at the two main gates. Both these elements were unusual in Byzantine North Africa and they are discussed as part of the more general repertory of Byzantine fortifications. The unusual tower adjacent to the West Church is considered in the context of literary accounts. The article concludes by considering how the architecture and magnitude of the fortifications can allow a reassessment of the wider role of the city in the sixth and seventh century defences of Cyrenaica.

This paper describes an integrated series of sedimentological and palynological studies of the arenaceous deposits which infill the large alluvial basin of Grerat D'nar Salem, which is located on a limestone plateau in the semi-arid pre-desert of Tripolitania north-west of the town of Beni Ulid. This research shows that in the early and middle Holocene this depression was occupied by a large semi-permanent or permanent water body which was surrounded by a grass-steppe vegetation with some tree and shrub species, perhaps growing in wetter stream- and wadi-beds. Sometime in the mid-Holocene the region became much more arid, the lake disappeared, matching the pattern of environmental change observed elsewhere in northern Africa. The geomor-phic environment became dominated by aeolian processes, interrupted by occasional winter floods, in a landscape dominated by grass steppe — essentially the situation that has continued to the present day. It is clear from general biogeographical and geomorphic considerations that Romano-Libyan floodwater farming in the region must have brought about significant changes in the character of wadi floors. Field survey indicates that it has also left a legacy in the contemporary distribution of plants, animals and runoff in the modern landscape. Nevertheless, no clear evidence has emerged from this study that the widespread and intensive flood-water farming, evidenced by the archaeological remains in the area, was associated with either a climate or a landscape notably different from that of today. The new palynological evidence suggests that the nature of the related ancient cultivation at Grerat is better viewed as a monoculture, rather than the mixed farming deduced previously for wadi-floor areas. There is no evidence that any naturally-occurring environmental change was associated with the introduction or loss of floodwater farming in the region. There is some sedimentological evidence that such activity might have led to problems of soil salinity in this basin.

IRT 895 refers to the construction of a burgus at Gheriat in the reign of Severus Alexander. From its location when first discovered it is clear that it related to the building of the circular tower about 1 km north-east of the fort and not to the fort itself. Up until now the tower has generally been considered of post-Roman date. IRT 896 refers to repairs to the fort under Gordian III. A suggestion is made about the garrison of Gheriat at that date and the history of this unit, the cohors I Syrorum sagittariorum, is reviewed.

In the course of my research on Cyrenaican funerary sculptures, such as the remarkable ‘Mourning Women’ and ‘Funerary Divinities’ and the distinctive local funerary portraits, I realised to my dismay that a large part of this archaeological material has been or is currently on sale on the international art market. The number of sales of these sculptures on the art market demonstrates the extent of looting over the past twenty years in the Greek necropoleis of Libya. These sales show in particular that the degree of tomb destruction has increased exponentially during the past ten years. This preliminary discussion has three main objectives: 1) to alert and to inform the world about this destruction in order to help end the looting; 2) to describe the operational modes of the illicit trade in antiquities on the art market; and 3) to study and document these sculptures, which are important evidence for understanding the culture and history of ancient Cyrenaica.

In 1971 the Libyan Department of Antiquities invited the Society to conduct a trial excavation at Ajdabiyah to find out whether further investigation might throw light on the medieval Islamic settlement. Documentary evidence showed that Ajdabiyah was already a caravan town in the ninth century A.D., that it flourished under the Fatimids and that it was destroyed by the Banu Sulaim and the Banu Hilal in 1051. Earlier excavations had revealed two major Islamic monuments; a ruined qasr and a mosque (Abdussaid 1964a). It was known, too, that in the first century A.D. a Roman detachment was stationed at Ajdabiyah, which is identified with Corniclanum, a name on the Peutinger Map.

The short season of 1971 established that remains of the medieval town survived on the south-east side of Ajdabiyah, in the area of the modern cemetery (fig. 1). A scatter of Roman material and a group of burials, apparently of Roman date, suggested that future excavation might reveal something of the history of Corniclanum, as well as of the Fatimid settlement (Blake, Hutt and Whitehouse 1971).

In 1972 we returned to Ajdabiyah. We resumed excavation at the mosque and planned in detail the remains of the qasr (Whitehouse 1972). Both buildings have considerable importance. The qasr had been stripped in 1952 (Abdussaid 1964a). We planned the building at a scale of 1: 40, drew elevations of the principal rooms and made a full photographic record; the structure now awaits final publication. At the mosque we found evidence for two periods of construction, both evidently Fatimid, the earlier of which was probably commissioned by Abu'l Qasim, the son of Obeid Allah. An inscription from the mosque (unfortunately not in situ) bears the date (3)10/922-3 or (3)20/932, possibly the date of construction (Lowick 1972, 5 and pl. VIIa). Among the masonry re-used in the mosque were no fewer than seven fragments of Roman inscriptions, including SEG ix, 773–95.

In the Gebel Garian, about 20 kilometres south of Asabaa, the map-makers of 1964 indicated an ancient wall (Fig. 1) called Hadd Hajar (i.e. wall of stone) running south-west for six kilometres from Ras al Tays al Abyad (858 m; the Hill of the White Goat) on which stood a watch tower, to Ras al Said (764 m). The country crossed by Hadd Hajar is about 690-730 m above sea-level with a gently-undulating surface constituting a fairly open and level valley. The hills are covered with esparto-grass. On the west the Wadi Wamis winds among closely-set hills while, in the north-east, the wall is carried for a further three quarters of a kilometre across a narrow valley from Ras al Tays al Abyad to another hill Ras al Saqifah. An old track comes southwards down this valley flanked on the east side by a barrier of hills over 800 m high. Where the track crosses the wall there is a Roman building (Gasr al Saqifah) with traces of an archway for people and flocks to pass through. Two kilometres to the south is an old cistern (Majin Saqifah) presumably Roman. Beyond, the track continues about 25 kilometres to a large well, Bir al Shaqaykah (Sceghega), after which it is another 28 kilometres south-eastwards to Mizdah on the Wadi Sofeggin.

Since the late Sandro Stucchi organised the pioneering Urbino conference in 1981 (Stucchi and Luni 1987), the relations of the ancient Eastern Libyans with their northeastern African neighbors, whether Egyptian or Greek, have been the object of much discussion in print (Barker 1989, 31–43; Knapp 1981, 249–279; Leahy 1985, 51–65; O'Connor 1983, 271–278 and 1987, 35–37) as well as the focus of another international conference, this time organised by Anthony Leahy for the Society of Libyan Studies joined with the University of London's School of African Studies Centre of Near and Middle Eastern Studies (Leahy et al. 1990). The 1986 joint SOAS/Society for Libyan Studies conference concentrated on Libyan-Egyptian relations prior to the middle of the 8th century BC, which normally stand outside the immediate purview of classical archaeologists, even though the Urbino conference and the first Cambridge Colloquium organised by Joyce Reynolds in 1984 both included some discussion of the pre-Greek Libyans (Baldassarre 1987,17–24; Beltrami 1985,135–143; Tinè 1987,15–16). While this acceleration of interest would no doubt gratify Oric Bates (dead since 1918), it would also perhaps pique his curiosity even more to read that after so many years the third and second millenia BC Libyans still remain archaeologically largely undocumented (Knapp 1981, 258, 263–264; Leahy 1985, 52; O'Connor 1983, 271 and 1990, 45), especially since he himself had cause to believe that he had excavated their remains in the vicinity of Marsa Matruh (Bates 1915a, 201–207, 1915b, 158-165 and 1927, 137–140; Petrie 1915, 165–166 and 1920, 36).

This interim report describes a representative sample of the lithic material recovered during the fieldwork of the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey. Some of the problems relating to the dating of prehistoric artefacts in Libya are described (lack of detailed regional studies, patination). Material from three areas is described in detail; these areas being Wadi Tabunia near Gheriat el-Garbia, the Wadi N'f'd system (including its tributaries, the Wadis N'fed and Umm el-Kharab) and part of the Mizda corridor between Mizda and Gharian. Some preliminary comments are made on the date of certain sites and on the possible implications in relation to the prehistoric pattern of settlement.

This paper reports on the results of the work of the Palaeo team of the DMP in January 2010. The fieldwork was focused on two different areas – the Wadi ash-Shati and the southwestern margin of the Ubari Sand Sea. Work in the Wadi ash-Shati confirmed the existence of Oldowan sites in Fazzan (locality SHT11 and environs), which although undated, represent a major addition to the extent of prehistoric occupation of the area. Further work near the site originally studied by Petit-Maire in the 1980s confirmed the association of a shell layer dated to the last interglacial with archaeological artefacts in situ. These artefacts are of MSA affinity, thus placing Fazzan in the context of other northern African sites of that time. The work in the southwestern margin of the basin represented the first formal archaeological survey of that area. This revealed extensive Holocene and MSA occupations, and in a group of sites at the southern edge of the Hamada Zaqher, also Oldowan lithics. Little if any Acheulean remains were observed, while the latter predominate in the interdunes just north of the Wadi al-Ajal. Overall, the spatial and technological analyses of the sites and remains suggest that there were different resource constraints on hominins in the Middle and later Quaternary, shaping the distribution of industries and raw materials. Furthermore, the relative widespread distribution of Oldowan sites – Wadi ash-Shati, southern Messak, and Hamada Zaqher, shows that the Central Sahara played an important role in the evolutionary geography of Lower Pleistocene hominins in Africa.

In 1971 the Libyan Department of Antiquities invited the Society to conduct a trial excavation at Ajdabiyah, with a view to defining the extent of the medieval Islamic occupation and determining whether the site would repay further investigation. The prognosis was good. Documentary evidence indicated that Ajdabiyah was already a caravan town in the ninth century A.D., that it flourished under the Fatimids and that it was destroyed or severely damaged when the Bani Sulaim and the Bani Hilal invaded the Maghrib in 1051. Furthermore, earlier excavations had revealed two medieval monuments, a ruined qasr and a mosque, both apparently Fatimid. As expected, the trial excavation, which was described in the Society's Annual Report for 1971, yielded positive results and in April 1972 we began a second, larger campaign. During the season we resumed excavations at the mosque and planned in detail the remains of the qasr. The Director-General of Antiquities, Mr Sadawiya, and the Controller of Antiquities in W. Cyrenaica, Mr. Abdussaid, did everything in their power to make the expedition a success and our Inspector, Mr Warfelli, gave valuable on-the-spot assistance. The Society sent a team of nine—Hilde Ainger, Sarah Jennings, Ruth Whitehouse, George Ainger, Warwick Ball, Peter Donaldson, David Jeffery, John Morrish and myself—and the Department of Antiquities provided accommodation and labour. The Trustees of the British Museum kindly released Mr Nicholas Lowick, who joined us to study the coins and epigraphy, see p. 4. The Department of Civil Engineering, Imperial College of Science and Technology, generously lent us surveying instruments. The project, therefore, was a combined operation and I wish to thank most warmly all those concerned.

This paper reports the preliminary results of a brief survey east of Tobruk over Easter 2008. The survey concentrated upon two areas: between Wadi Qseirat and Wadi Gabar, north of Kambut and around Marsa Lukk. Thirty-four sites were identified, ranging from larger settlements near good harbours (one each at Wadi Duma and Marsa Lukk), to farmsteads, farms and larger inland villages. Eleven sites provided evidence of industrial activity through the presence of kiln waste and at four of them, of the kilns themselves. Dated sites belong to the Early and Late Roman periods, Iron Age and Hellenistic sherds are present in small quantities. Marmaric ware, first identified along the coast of the western desert of Egypt, is shown to extend into this area and may be associated with cairn and enclosure burials.

This article reports on a new project to investigate the activities of early Homo sapiens in the area of the Chotts ‘megalake’ in southern Tunisia. Excavations in 2015 and 2019 at Oued el Akarit revealed one of a number of Middle Stone Age (MSA) horizons near the top of a long sequence of Upper Pleistocene deposits. The site identified as Oued el Akarit (Sondage 8) consists of lithic artefacts, bone fragments of large ungulates and pieces of ostrich eggshell. Many of the objects are burnt. Excavation of about nine square metres revealed that these were associated with a lightly trampled and combusted occupation surface. Amongst the identified artefacts were Levallois flakes some of which could be refitted, thereby indicating the generally undisturbed nature of the occupation. The lithic finds also included side scrapers and other tools diagnostic of the MSA but significantly no bifacial or tanged tools. OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) dating of the sediments and AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) radiocarbon dating of ostrich eggshell have produced uncalibrated age determinations in the range 37,000–40,000 years ago, one of the youngest ages for MSA sites in the region. This is the first example of a securely dated later MSA occupation in a riparian environment in south-eastern Tunisia.

This is a summary of a paper given to members and guests of the Society of Libyan Studies in London on 6th June 1984. The authors use the technique of stable isotope analysis of carbon and oxygen in samples of marble taken from carefully selected monuments in Lepcis Magna to compare statue types and architectural decoration. Controversial views on the origins of the sculptors working at Lepcis Magna are also examined in the light of this method.

In this article Campania is proposed as the provenance for a class of terra sigillata, somewhat frequent at Berenice and on other North-African sites, which was recently termed by Kenrick ‘Tripolitanian Sigillata’.

Particularly frequent on Campanian sites, above all at Pompeii and Naples, it was present in this region from the end of the first century BC, occurring with high percentage values in assemblages of fine pottery from excavations. This new evidence for its distribution would appear to exclude a North African provenance. A Campanian origin, in the area of the Bay of Naples, is, moreover, supported both by the results of thin section analyses of the clay and by the discovery of possible kiln wasters at Naples.

This paper presents some information on Libyan pottery from Marmarica, based on the results of recent fieldwork in the vicinity of Marsa Matruh and Zawiyet umm-el Rakham. The local coarsewares are hard to date, but some New Kingdom period sherds can be identified. In the Graeco-Roman periods shell-tempered wares are found, in the form of a bag-shaped jar, production of which continues until at least the 7th century AD, to judge from the association of some of these sherds with amphorae of Riley's type Late Roman 13.

This short paper presents a full list of the currently available radiocarbon dates from the work of Charles Daniels in the 1960s-1970s and the Fazzan Project (1997-2001). The dates can be grouped into several categories, by site or area, and demonstrate the potential of radiocarbon dating being applied to historic-period archaeology in the Sahara. This complements earlier Italian work on later prehistory. One of the most important conclusions to emerge is that the construction of castle-like buildings in Fazzan began within the Garamantian period and that some of the numerous well-preserved mudbrick fortified sites are thus rather earlier than has previously been envisaged. A second important conclusion is that the use of AMS dating can help to identify and confirm activity of the post-Garamantian and early Islamic phases, which has hitherto been elusive.

This paper discusses the deep transformation of the monumental funerary culture of Cyrene during the Roman period. For the first time the problem is analysed in its complex entirety, identifying elements of Roman tombs and looking for possible dating clues. The quantitative data from a survey in the Southern Necropolis are used for a statistical analysis, looking for the relationship between portrait-busts/niches and other burial features. A chronological view of this period in the necropolis is attempted, together with a discussion of the evolution and the cultural significance of tomb-types. The picture is also contextualised within what we know of the socio-historical framework from other sources.

The presently accepted ceramic chronology places the earliest episodes of Greek colonisation in Libya some three to four decades earlier than the traditional historical dates. A similar offset between the archaeological and historical chronologies can be seen at Naukratis and other Archaic Greek sites. A review of ‘fixed points’ for Archaic dating shows that the balance of evidence now strongly favours a reduction of late seventh to early sixth century BC Greek ceramic chronology by three to four decades. Such a reduction would bring harmony between the archaeological and historical pictures for the founding of the Cyrenaican colonies, restoring confidence in the account given by Herodotus.

Five Latino-Punic inscriptions from Tripolitania are discussed in detail, and their wider context discussed. Not only do they attest the prevalence of the Punic language in Roman Tripolitania, but also survival of Punic political and religious institutions. A particularly graphic example is provided in inscription IRT 893, which suggests that human sacrifice attested among the Carthaginians was also practised in Tripolitania. The inscriptions attest a flourishing economy in the region during the Roman period.