This article provides an outline of the Libyan Antiquities at Risk (LAaR) project, which has developed a reference database and website recording Libyan antiquities that are under threat of being stolen and sold on the illegal art market. Since the Arab Spring in 2011 and the subsequent political instability, the number of antiquities that are trafficked out of Libya has risen sharply. The illustrated reference collection created by LAaR is mainly aimed at customs officials, international agencies, museum curators, the police and cultural heritage sector, to alert them about the likelihood of Libyan provenance of previously unrecorded material of similar appearance to known pieces, and thereby help to prevent the sale of Libyan antiquities on the illegal art market. LAaR is a collaboration between the Society for Libyan Studies and the University of Leicester.

Libya's archaeological heritage is under serious threat, not only because of recent conflict, but also due to other factors such as urban expansion, agricultural development, natural resource prospection, vandalism, looting and natural deterioration. The Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa Project (EAMENA) has developed a database and methodology using remote sensing and other techniques to rapidly document archaeological sites and any disturbances and threats to them in Libya and across the MENA region. This paper will demonstrate this methodology and highlight the various types of disturbances and threats affecting the archaeology of Libya, concentrating on four case studies in different areas of the country, including the coastal plain around Zliten, a section of the Wadi Sofeggin in the pre-desert, and the desert oases of Jufra and Murzuq.

Since 1995 the Archaeological Mission to Libya of Roma Tre University has carried out several surveys in the territory and suburbs of Lepcis Magna. Besides the survey of the archaeological and historical sites, the Roma Tre team has also had the opportunity to observe and record the development of the landscape through periods of war and peace.

In this article, the issues related to the cultural heritage in the area of the modern city of Khoms and in the Lepcis hinterland are analysed and particular consideration is given to the damage and destruction that has occurred since the Italian occupation (1911) until the present day. The Lepcitanian/Khoms territory is an interesting case study in which the cultural heritage has been, and still is, at risk due to ‘civilian’ and ‘conflict’ causes. Besides the damage that occurred during the Italo-Turkish War and – to a minor extent – during WWII, the main damage seems to have occurred in the last sixty years due to the expansion of Khoms and to the ongoing unstable political situation in which the lack of central government control is playing an important role. In particular, since 2011, Islamic fundamentalists have demolished in these areas several ancient marabouts, destroying one of the most characteristic aspects of the Tripolitanian/Libyan cultural landscape.

The core area of Cyrene, despite recent upheavals, benefits from well-managed controls and fences that so far seem to have stopped the looting, although not the vandalism. These fences act mainly as a psychological barrier; for the local people, everything inside the fences is seen as ‘more important’ than what is outside. However, it is impossible to enclose all the monumental tombs, rock-cut sanctuaries and ancient farms and fortifications. The first type of damage we see is due to looting, which is increasing, and acts of vandalism. The lack of regulation and police control as well as increased urbanisation have caused a lot of uncontrolled building, causing the further destruction of large sections of the necropolis. A second type of damage is due to the lack of maintenance. In order to help restore the sites, the Universities of Urbino, Chieti, Roma 3, Naples 2 and the Mission of the MIBACT at Giarabub, in collaboration with the DoA, have organised courses on ‘Rescue restoration in emergency’. Despite the growing number of inspectors and technicians in Cyrene, there are still not enough archaeologists, guards or restorers. This paper explains these general issues and, as a case study, the remote but important area of Giarabub.

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.

A 2015 court judgment in the United Kingdom ruled that a seized Libyan statue should be returned to the ownership of the State of Libya. The judgment prompts a critical discussion of the involvement of professional conservators in the trafficking of cultural objects. Higher standards of due diligence are recommended for conservators and other professional experts engaging with cultural objects that might have been stolen and trafficked. Stronger professional due diligence is but one component of a broader policy of demand reduction that will be necessary to control the theft and trafficking of cultural objects, and to offer protection to cultural sites around the world.

This paper looks at the current state of museums in Tripolitania and what can be done to protect their contents, focusing on the case study of Bani Walid. It also examines the importance of the digitisation of records to help preserve them, as well as to enable easy dissemination.

This essay outlines the capacity-building work of the American Archaeological Mission to Libya between the years 2005 and 2016. This work was made possible by grants from the US Embassy to Libya, the US State Department Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in Washington, DC. The principles and objectives underlying our capacity-building programme were inspired by the 2003 UNESCO World Heritage Centre Mission Report by Giovanni Boccardi, in particular his recommendation that the Libyan Department of Antiquities obtain training in the best modern cultural heritage management practices via sustained partnerships with external professionals and organisations.

The only building which has been preserved from the ancient urban fabric of Tripoli, Oea in antiquity, is the Triumphal Arch. By considering Arab sources, we may shed new light on its evolution, the place it had been in the past and the way it was considered during those times. If we compare two excerpts from Arab-Muslim historiography, written by local travellers, with Western testimonies, we see that the monument was reinterpreted in the light of the new culture which was established in the region and of the local history of the city.

This article examines the available archaeological and historical data on the Late Antique city of Apollonia-Sozousa, with a particular focus on the date of its elevation to the capital of Libya Superior. Contrary to recent scholarship that stressed intrinsic evidence in the form of a combination of Berber raids and a deficient Roman military infrastructure, this article seeks to reintegrate the local conflicts of late Roman Cyrenaica to the major historical events of the fifth century AD. It is argued that the failed attempt of AD 468 to conquer Vandal Africa and the subsequent retreat of the Roman forces out of Tripolitania in AD 470 serves as a more likely political background to date the relocation of the capital from Ptolemais to Apollonia-Sozousa.

‘Notes from Libya’ is a new regular feature of Libyan Studies following the reports of the Society's Head of Mission. These reports were previously concerned with the organisation of fieldwork and administrative matters connected to obtaining permissions, visas and so on, and were recorded in the minutes of the Council meetings. However, they have recently taken on a new form, outlining the alarming developments in Libya, largely focusing on its heritage but also on the political and economic situation, which impacts on the management of Libya's ancient monuments and artefacts. The importance and historical interest of these reports now, however, merits a wider audience and a more formal record, so these accounts are now published in Libyan Studies.

This is the first in a series of Chair's notes in Libyan Studies. We hope that future notes will address easier topics and more straightforward success, but for now we think it is important to communicate what we are doing given the difficult circumstances of Libya today. We trust that this report is useful, and we welcome any feedback.