the excavation of the fewet necropolis

Abstract. In years 2004-2006, twenty-four tumuli located in the large necropolis adjacent to the oasis of Fewet were excavated. They were selected among the best preserved stone structures, according to the observation carried out during the survey of the cemete-ry. The investigation of those tumuli provided new data both on Garamantian’s funerary practices and population. In fact thirty-three skeletons, at various state of preservation, were uncovered. A detailed description of the excavated structures, inhumations and fu-nerary offerings is here presented. The evidence from Fewet will be then interpreted in the framework of the Late, Final Pastoral and Garamantian funerary traditions in the Fezzan.Key Words. Garamantes; funerary practices; funerary structures; grave goods; skeletal remains.

L.M. Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza Università di Roma [email protected]. Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma [email protected]. Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University [email protected]. The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara, Sapienza Università di Roma [email protected]. Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza Università di Roma [email protected]

Authors’ contribution. Francesca Ricci carried out the anthropological study on the field and wrote all the parts related to the human skeletal remains. Maria Carmela Gat-to provided information on the ceramic assemblage. Emanuele Cancellieri analysed the arrow head from tumulus FW T1287 and Cristina Lemorini studied the wear traces on lithics from the same cairn. Lucia Mori directed the field work and wrote all the remaining archaeological paragraphs.Acknowledgements. In the course of the three archaeological seasons many people, beside the authors, were involved in the field work at Fewet. In the year 2004 excavation was carried out by Mario Liverani, Luisa Barbato, Erinda Bundo, Claudio Moffa; in 2005 by Giorgio Grassi and Andrea Monaco. Alessandro Felici was present in 2004 and 2005 as surveyor, helped in 2006 by Massimo Massussi. Sara Giovannetti was the official photog-rapher. The late Habib Ali Awn participated to the 2004 and 2005 seasons with his usual courtesy and competence. Ibrahim Saleh Azzebi spent with us his last archaeological campaign in 2006. Marina Gallinaro and Stefano Biagetti, involved in different fields of research of the Italian-Libyan Archaeological Mission in the Acacus and Messak (now Archaeological Mission in the Sahara), provided precious logistic and scientific support. This research would not have been possible without the constant presence and encour-agement of Mario Liverani and Savino di Lernia.

16.1 Introduction

The archaeology of death and mortuary landscapes has been al-ways a relevant issue of the archaeological investigation in the Fez-zan, since the first missions undertaken during the Italian Colonial period (Caputo 1937; Pace et al. 1951). As a matter of fact, the impos-ing number of stone structures scattered along wadi escarpments,

plateau and even wadi beds close to the oasis villages, represen-ted the most common and visible feature in the landscape. They gave witness to a long-lasting funerary practice, which dated back to the Pastoral Period and went on till proto-historical times (di Lernia and Manzi 2002; Mattingly 2003, 2007). The contracted body was usually deposed in a shaft covered by a heap of stones, which could become either a tumulus or a more complex stone struc-ture, or even a true megalithic monument.It has been underlined that in Fezzan the visible impact of funerary monuments would play an important role in a self-identification process of the local communities (di Lernia et al. 2002a: 25-27; Liv-erani 2007b: 171). More generally in the wider North African koine such structures «asserted property ownership rights, served as foci for the ritual behaviour of local inhabitants, and demonstrated identity through symbols connected to indigenous or external groups» (Stone and Stirling 2007: 3). Funerary practices indeed re-flect significant features of cultural identity; they can be used to explore social status and its changes, population dynamics and cultural interactions. Until recently, no systematic investigation had focused on the Garamantian cemeteries in southern Fezzan. In the Italian Colonial period a small scale excavation was under-taken in the Kokaman hill, adjacent to the Old town of Ghat, where a cemetery dating to the Garamantian period was identified (Pace et al. 1951: 386-391). Only four tumuli were explored and funerary goods were reported from a single drum-shaped structure which contained imported luxury items, including an African Red Slipped ware dish and fragments of marsupium-like glass vessels dated to the 3rd-4th century AD (Fontana 1995). A decade after, a French-Algerian expedition organized by the Institut de Recherches Sahari-ennes of Algiers carried out limited excavations in the Garamantian necropoleis of Barkat and Tin Alkum, publishing only a two-page report on the entire field work (Leschi 1945: 185-186). None of the aforementioned excavations reported information on local pottery, which was surely present but too ‘rudely made’ to deserve any at-tention compared with the imported ceramics. It is only since 1997 that systematic campaigns were devoted to the survey and excava-tion of funerary structures in the Wadi Tanezzuft. They were under-

16. The excavation of the Fewet necropolisLucia Mori , Francesca Ricci

with contr ibutions by Maria Carmela Gatto, Emanuele Cancell ier i and Crist ina Lemorini

Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 6, 2013pp. 253-318

mailto:[email protected]

254 L . M o r i , F . r i c c i

taken in the framework of a wider interdisciplinary project devoted to the study of climatic and environmental variations and cultural trajectories in the Holocene, from the Early Acacus hunter-gatherers to the rise of the Garamantian civilisation (di Lernia and Manzi 2002; Liverani 2005). Extremely interesting information was obtained, par-ticularly in reconstructing the transition between Final Pastoral and Early Garamantian funerary traditions. Remarkable evidence came also from the excavation of an isolated monumental structure, the so called Royal Tumulus, dated to the Classical Garamantian times (di Lernia et al. 2002b: 103-116). The survey and excavation of the ne-cropolis adjacent to the modern village of Fewet not only aimed to integrate the parallel investigation of the compound, but also rep-resented the natural continuation of the previous research (Fig. 16.1).

16.2 Methods and aims

The field work at the cemetery, which lies on a rocky outcrop spreading all along the southern side of the Fewet oasis, identified a total of 1329 tumuli, almost all related to the Garamantian phases (see Chapter 15). Their proximity to the modern village and to the asphalt road leading to Ghat made the accessibility of the area ex-tremely easy and only few funerary structures showed no sign of robbing activity (Fig. 16.2). Moreover, in the years immediately pre-ceding our field work, the increasing flow of tourists in the Acacus area resulted in the building of a camping area with small bunga-lows just on top of the necropolis’ plateau, at the SW fringes of the ancient cemetery. The camping site was never used but caused the destruction and removal of some of the old tombs, the stones of which were often reused as material for new building contractions. Only about 12% of the tombs appeared to be almost untouched and presumably contained a preserved burial. Thus, investigating the preserved Garamantian funerary data in the area became in-deed an urgent task. Furthermore, that of Fewet was the only ex-tended cemetery adjacent to an oasis’ town in the region of Ghat which had not been excavated in the Colonial period. The limited time frame at our disposal resulted with a selection of tombs to excavate. Such selection aimed at statistically document-ing all types of cairns, possibly distributed all along the cemetery area (Fig. 16.3), hoping to reconstruct population dynamics, devel-opment of funerary practices and process formations of the mor-tuary landscape in a diachronic perspective. The excavation took place in three different years (2004, 2005 and 2006) and involved the digging of 24 structures, in which a total of 33 individuals were buried (see Tab. 16.I and Chapter 17 Tab. 17.I).

Fig. 16.1 – View of the Fewet necropolis.

Fig. 16.3 – Map of the excavated tumuli.

Fig. 16.2 – A drum-shaped tumulus with the typical robbing activity: the slab covering the lithic cist was completely opened to loot the burial.

T h e e x c a v a T i o n o F T h e F e w e T n e c r o p o L i s 255

In 2004, in conjunction to the continuation of the necropolis’ survey, 7 tumuli were excavated in a restricted area (1.1 km ca.) located east of the modern village of Tan Afella. This represented the necropolis central area, where a concentration of drum-shaped tumuli, some of which particularly well preserved, was identified (see Chapter 15 Fig. 15.30). Four type 3b tumuli (FW T710, T712, T715, T716), one type 2b with crater (FW T719) and two type 1b (FW T661, T662) were selected. Among the better preserved structures of type 3b, those with an-nexes, standing stones/stelae, rudimental offering tables (“milking stools”) and/or stone alignments, were preferred, so to better under-stand the meaning of such features in their archaeological context. Also a big tumulus with a surrounding stone ring of type 1b (FW T1287), located at the SW fringes of the necropolis, was chosen for excavation. Its particularly imposing size and monumentality and its location in a small depression surrounded by sandstone out-crops, made this tomb to appear as an isolated monument. The supposed earlier date to the Late/Final Pastoral phase proved to be correct after the excavation. It represented thus an important chronological and cultural trait d’union with the archaeology of death reconstructed from the previous investigations in the Tanez-zuft Valley (di Lernia and Manzi 2002). In 2005 thirteen structures were excavated; they were selected both in order to investigate different settings in the cemetery and to dig more types of tombs than the ones previously excavated to fill as much as possible the spatial and typological gaps in the documen-tation. T593 (2b) and T669 (3a), located in the same central area of the drum-shaped tombs’ cluster, were selected to include examples of those types. At the SW fringes of the cemetery five more graves were added to that already excavated (T1287): T1991 (2a), T1197 (2a), T1210 (2b), T1226 (2b) and T1223 (1b). Tumuli T120 (1a) and T399 (1b) were selected in the area between the previous two, and in the eastern-most sector of the cemetery. The data was implemented also by the excavation of T976, T914 (both 3b), T954 and T1178 (both 1a).Finally, in 2006, in the course of an archaeological mission mainly devoted to the study of the cultural material and the skeletal re-mains, four days were dedicated to the investigation of a peculiar stone structure (FW SS1) (see Chapter 15), which included also three tumuli (FW T40, T41, T42). Two of them were excavated (FW T40 and T41, both type 1b). A third cairn (FW T1261) was also chosen to get a further example of a type 2b tumulus with an annex. The total number of excavated structures by type is summarised in Fig. 16.4. If we consider the percentage of excavated macro-types and the state of preservation of the different typologies (type 1a being the most ruined, while type 3b the best preserved in percentage) (see Chapter 15 Tab. 15.X), the investigated sample is comparable to the Fig. 16.4 – Excavated structures by type.

Tab. 16.I – Fewet necropolis excavated tumuli: age at death of the buried individuals and volume of the stone structures.

Tumulus Type Volume Sex Age

T120 1a 1.43 F 30-35

T954 1a 5.59 F 20-25

T1178 1a 20.43 - -

T40 1b 1.10 F 35-40

T41 1b 0.81 M 30-35

T399 1b 5.30 M 25-30

T661 1b 3.22 Ind 7-8

T662 1b 3.35 Ind 10-11

T1223 1b 2.64 Ind 12-14

T1287 1b 36.43

T1191 2a 2.86 M 25-30

T1197 2a 5.38 F 30-40

T593 2b 5.29 Ind 0-6 months

T1210 2b 4.22 F 30-35

T1226 2b 3.19 M 40-45

T1261 2b 1.88 F 35-40

T669 3a 2.56 F 20-25

T719 3a 5.80 Ind 13-15

T710 3b 10.31 M 30-40

T712 3b 10.89 F 35-40

T715 3b 13.87 F 20-25

T716 3b 14.43 M 20-30

T914 3b 10.89 F 15-20

T976 3b 11.25 M 35-40

256 L . M o r i , F . r i c c i

aluminum telescopic 5 m long pole to get zenith images); all the digital pictures used for topographic relief were recitfied with MSR software. All archaeological and anthropological material has been sampled. Preliminary diagnosis of sex and age at death of the skel-etons was performed directly on the field, according to routine methods reported in the anthropological literature and later re-peated in the laboratory (see Chapter 17).

16.3 The excavated structures

16.3.1 Type 1

Conical tumuli, both simple cap and simple dome shaped, repre-sent almost 50% of the tombs in the Fewet cemetery (see Chap-ter 15 Fig. 15.10). Their spatial distribution is almost evenly spread all along the necropolis area, from the easternmost fringes to the south-western end (see Chapter 15 Fig. 15.30), and their chronologi-cal span in the area seems also to develop from the Late Pastoral period to the latest cairns dated to the Late Garamantian phase, with significant changes in shape, dimension and spatial distribu-tion. Ten conical tumuli were excavated, 3 type 1a and 7 type 1b (Fig. 16.5). They all show a similar building technique: a shallow burial pit was dug into the bedrock, mainly to flatten its surface, and a stone cist usually made of huge sandstone slabs and blocks was laid around its wall. One or more sandstone slabs closed the stone cist, which was then encircled by medium size (from 35 to 70 cm ca. long) slabs and blocks, concentrically set around the pit to form the platform at the base of the conical tumulus. Finally, smaller blocks and cobbles were heaped to close and complete the struc-

percentage of types recorded in the necropolis, with type 1 being the most common, followed by type 3 and 2. Of course, if we consider the total number of tombs, the chrono-logical span and their spatial distribution, the investigated sam-ple represents indeed a small percentage (roughly 2%), which nevertheless added substantial information on the way of death at Fewet over the long time interval from the Late/Final Pastoral phase to the Late Garamantian one.The excavation adopted stratigraphic methods; all the identified features have been numbered; sandy sediments have been sieved by means of a 2 mm mesh. All the structures were rebuilt after the excavation, using their original stones and respecting the origi-nal shape as much as possible. Topographic information was col-lected by means of an electronic total station; the photographic documentation was obtained using a digital camera (fixed on an

Fig. 16.5 – Map of excavated type 1 tumuli.

Fig. 16.6 – Building sequence of conical tumuli (type 1): tumulus FW T399, (A) aerial view of the tumulus before the excavation; (B) stone platform at the base of the tumulus with three slabs covering the lithic cist; (C) lithic cist at the end of the excavation.

A B C


ture which was often refined with a layer of small cobbles (from 3 to 10 cm long), that were always varnished on the upper surface, which smoothed the final cap (Fig. 16.6A-C). The entire building process did not take long, depending, of course, on the size of the cairn (the Garamantian structures being usually rather small, see Chapter 15). In our experience, the rebuilding of an excavated conical tomb took from an hour to less than two. Raw material was available on the spot, and in general terms the use of slabs was preferred where the sandstone bedrock was exposed in thin strata, while the use of prismatic angular blocks and cobbles was prevalent where the bedrock outcropped in thicker banks.

Sub-type 1a (T120, T954, T1178)

FW T120 was a simple cap conical cairn located at the foot of the gentle slope formed by the sandstone plateau, very close to the modern asphalt road leading to Tan Afella, only 200 m far from the closest modern house and 500 m ca. from the excavated com-pound. The state of preservation of the tumulus was rather good (Fig. 16.7), its maximum diameter was 3.15 m and its maximum height 0.75 m ca. The structure was totally excavated and an E-W section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Eight stratigraphic layers have been recorded (Fig. 16.8). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small to medium sized sandstone cobbles (from 4-5 up to 25-30 cm long), mostly varnished on the external surface; 2. medium and large sized prismatic blocks and slabs (from 25-30 to 60 cm long), unvarnished, mingled in loose yellow sand; 3. two sandstone slabs and one sandstone block (ranging from 60 to 80 cm long, 40 cm large and from 10 to 15 cm thick), which were used to close the top of the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist formed by 6 huge sandstone blocks (max. size: 83 x 30 x 20 cm, min. size 41 x 24 x 10 cm), enclosing the burial pit and set on the bedrock; 5. loose wind blown yellow sand filling the lithic cist and covering the skeleton; 6. reddish coarse sandy sediment at the bot-tom of the cist, on which H1 lay; 7. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult female (H1), 30-35 years old, was found inside the lithic cist (Fig. 16.9). The body lay tightly contracted on the left side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W, and facing E-N/E. The body was completely wrapped in a leather shroud, and tiny fragments of organic matter, with some red coloured leather remains, were found all over the buried individual. The skeleton was preserved and complete. The skull was complete, though slightly damaged in the facial region. The teeth, both upper and

Fig. 16.7 – Plan of tumulus FW T120.

Fig. 16.8 – Stratigraphic sequence of tumulus FW T120.

Fig. 16.9 – Tumulus FW T120, drawing of H1. The grey area indicates the leather shroud.

0 1 2 m

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lower, were nearly completely lost during life (but for some resid-ual roots), and the alveoli were completely reabsorbed. The state of preservation of the thoracic area (above all the ribs) was poor, while the bones of the arms and legs appeared intact and main-tained a perfect anatomical connection. The arms were both bent in front of the thorax, and the hands close to the face. Both the legs were tightly contracted. The artefacts and chronological attributionGrave goods related to H1 were very few: 4 fragments of a single high-footed vesicular basalt lamp were found on top of the struc-ture, mingled in the cobbles forming the uppermost layer of the cairn. They were too small to be diagnostic for measurements, but the complete object was well refined, as a rim fragment is ribbed along the longitudinal axes. A single dark blue glass bead was found in the sandy layer filling the stone cist, close to the thorax area of H1. It was probably a personal ornament of the buried woman, as beads have been frequently found in female burials at Fewet. The bead has been analysed using X microrays, and results showed a glass of the natron type with cobalt added as colorant (see Chapter 12, bead F5). The cultural material collected indicated that the tumu-lus pertained undoubtely to the Garamantian horizon.

FW T954 was a simple cap cairn, circular in plan, located just on top of the sandstone plateau facing the asphalt road to Fewet, in the area in front of the village of Tan Ataram, 1.5 km to the NE of the Fewet compound, in the eastern part of the cemetery but still not at its borders (Fig. 16.10). The tumulus was rather well preserved, only some collapsed stones were visible to its W-SW side, prob-ably due to the gentle sloping of the bedrock on top of which the tumulus was built. It was 4.7 m in diameter and 0.9 m in height. The structure was excavated keeping an E-W section (A-A’) set along its centre. The stratigraphic sequence Eight stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.11). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small and medium sized prismatic cobbles (from 2-3 up to 15-20 cm), varnished on the upper surface; 2. larger cobbles and sand-stone slabs (from 20 to 50 cm ca. in length), in a slightly cemented sandy matrix; 3. sandstone slabs forming a stone platform around the lithic cist; 4. three huge slabs covering the lithic cist (maximum dimension 118 x 76 x 16 cm); 5. lithic cist composed of 8 sandstone blocks from a maximum dimension of 77 x 47 x 20 cm to a mini-mum one of 34 x 20 x 15 cm); 6. loose, yellow sand filling the lithic cist and covering the skeleton; 7. reddish coarse silty-sandy soil, few centimetres thick, at the bottom of the cist; 8. bedrock.

Fig. 16.10 – Plan of tumulus FW T954. The black dot is the finding place of a vesicular basalt lamp, the dashed area indicates the pottery sherds.


Fig. 16.12 – Tumulus FW T954, drawing of H1. The small black dots close to the pelvis and knees area are dates and dates’ fragments.

0 0.25 0.50 m

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N

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In the case of FW T954 pottery is not merely scattered but inten-tionally concentrated in the W side of the structure where the head of the buried woman was located. Such practice should be related to the importance of marking the body orientation in the Garamantian culture, and was reflected in the distribution of spe-cific annexes related to the funerary practise, such as stelae, offer-ing tables, and stone alignments (see Chapter 15 Tab. 15.VI).

The burialThe skeleton of an adult female (H1), 20-25 years old, was found inside the lithic cist (Fig. 16.12). The body lay tightly contracted on the right side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and facing S/E. The body was probably wrapped in a leather shroud, at least from the pelvis to the feet area, where very small fragments of organic matter were found. The individual showed a very good state of preservation and anatomical connection. The cranium, complete, had slightly fallen forward, and the mandible had lost the articulation with the cranial base. Some teeth were preserved, and at least two of them (lower M1 and M3 on the left side) were lost during life and the alveoli reabsorbed. A sample of the pre-served teeth was collected for isotope analysis on strontium (see Chapter 18). The arms were bent on the thorax, with the left hand on the right shoulder and the right hand near the face. The legs were contracted. The artefacts and chronological attributionAdjacent to the western side of the structure, a concentration of 107 pottery sherds was collected (Fig. 16.13); seven ceramic frag-ments were found on top of the tumulus, one of which probably belonged to the same small jar as some fragments located in the W area; and other 18 fragments were found mingled in the stones of layer 2, concentrated in a small area in the W side of the struc-ture. They were mainly undecorated bodies with few examples of undecorated rims, which pertained at least to 3 undecorated jars, each having a large, a medium and a small size (rim diameter 26, 22 and 13 cm respectively). All three jars types were rather common in the Garamantian ceramic repertoire and were not particularly diagnostic; however, generally speaking, the absence of a surface decoration – roulette impression or incisions – in the southern Fez-zan area seems to be more common in the Mature Garamantian phase, contemporary to the occupation of the Fewet compound (see Chapter 6). Almost half of a well refined high-footed vesicular basalt lamp was found on top of the cairn. The preserved plan had a semicircular shape and a single longitudinal groove was carved from rim to base in the external surface (Fig. 16.14, see Chapter 8). As far as funerary practices are concerned, the presence of pottery fragments within the stones of the tumulus rather than placed as funerary goods inside the lithic cist can probably be related to a long-lasting tradition of funerary rites, in the region, attested since the Pastoral period. The ritual breaking of single vessels, scattered over the stone platform covering the lithic cist of the buried indi-vidual was in fact a common finding among graves excavated in the northern section of the Wadi Tanezzuft (di Lernia, Manzi and Merighi 2002: 290-91).

Fig. 16.13 – Pottery collected on the surface, in the area adjacent to FW T954 W side.

Fig. 16.14 – Vesicular basalt lamp found on top of tumulus FW T954.

2 cm

260 L . M o r i , F . r i c c i

The only grave goods found inside the lithic cist were three dry date fruits and eight stones, which were located near the pelvis. Again, food offerings in the form of dates were attested in burials from the Late Pastoral phase in the Wadi Tanezzuft: in tumulus T1 at site 96/129 dates were found and dated to around 3000 BP (Final Pastoral phase); in the so called Royal Tumulus of In Aghelachem, dated to the Classical Garamantian period, dates were also collect-ed inside the ‘Main structure’ (Cottini and Rottoli 2002). In the Fewet cemetery date stones were found inside the stone cist of structures: T662, T669, T710, T712, T1191 and T1287, which chronologically dated from the Late Pastoral to the Late Garamantian. In the Wadi el-Ajal region dates were also found as funerary offering in burials dated to the Garamantian times, placed inside dishes and/or baskets (Mat-tingly et al. 2010).A radiocarbon dating for this burial was obtained from H1 bone’s collagen and sets its age to 1920±40 uncal. years BP, with a calibrat-ed date ranging from the 1st century BC to the 1st AD (see Tab. 16. II). The tumulus was thus contemporary to the last phase of occupa-tion of the excavated village or immediately after its abandonment. Strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel was performed on the preserved teeth and the value showed similarities with the results from other tumuli located in the necropolis central area (T914, T715 and T716) (see Chapter 18).

FW T1178 was the only structure selected for excavation which was located at the NE fringes of the cemetery, 2.5 km approximately to the NE of the excavated compound and at the E end of the necropolis. Its location is rather peripheral to the main develop-ment of the Garamantian cemetery, with a small wadi separating an easternmost cluster of stone monuments, including a huge stone platform and a large tumulus with a stone ring most prob-ably dated to the Late/Final Pastoral phase. The cap shaped conical tumulus was located on the plateau slope facing the asphalt road to the modern villages of Tan Ataram and Tan Afella. It was a cir-cular cairn (Fig. 16.15), which showed a good state of preservation, with a maximum diameter of 7 m and a maximum height of 1.8 m ca. The structure was totally excavated and an E-W section (A’-A) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Five stratigraphic layers have been recorded (Fig. 16.16). From the top to the bottom we have:1. medium sized prismatic cobbles (from 4-5 to 25-30 cm), mostly varnished on the upper surface; 2. larger prismatic cobbles (from 5 up to 30-40 cm), unvarnished and mingled in a slightly cemented yellow sandy matrix; 3. prismatic cobbles with an average length

Fig. 16.15 – Plan of tumulus FW T1178. The grey area indicates the location of pottery sherds.


Fig. 16.17 – Pottery from tumulus FW T1178.

2 cm

0 1 2 m

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blocks, concentrically placed around the cist, formed the base of the structure, which was completed by heaping smaller blocks and cobbles to form the conical tumulus. The structure was totally excavated and an NW-SE section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Seven stratigraphic layers have been recorded (Fig. 16.19). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. prismatic cobbles (from 2-3 up to 30-35 cm long), mostly varnished on the upper surface; 2. larger cobbles and blocks (from 10 to 50 cm long), in a slightly cemented sand; 3. three elongated slabs (maximum dimension 100 x 35 x 15 cm) covering the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist built with eleven sandstone

from 30 to 50 cm, mingled in loose yellow sand; 4. unvarnished sandstone blocks (average length 50-60 cm) forming a stone plat-form; 5. bedrock. This was the only tumulus, among the excavated structures, where no preserved human bones were found and whose inner structure did not host a lithic cist. The artefacts and chronological attributionEight pottery fragments of a large vessel were found in a small spot on the N side of the structure among the cobbles of layer 2. They were part of a pot, red on the outer surface and brown on the inner one, with bands of incisions zonally applied (Fig. 16.17). The fabric was composed of fine sand with organic remains. The frag-ments were refitting but formed less than the 10% of the entire pot, whose shape was not possible to reconstruct. The vessel can be dated to the Late Pastoral period, and both surface treatment and incised decoration resemble a similar pot found in tumulus T1287, where the bone collagen of one of the buried individuals was radiocarbon dated to the Late Pastoral period (see in the fol-lowing). T1287 was also the only tumulus at Fewet where several individuals (H1, H2 and H3) where buried inside the heap of stones forming the structure, without a proper lithic cist. Thus the ab-sence of a lithic cist in T1178, also dated to the Late Pastoral phase, does not necessarily imply the absence of a buried individual and we cannot ascertain if this is due to either an actual lack of deposi-tion or to a post-depositional process of dissolution that affected the human bones. At Fewet skeletal remains of adults and juve-niles are generally well preserved, and only young children’s bones are often badly damaged and missing due to diagenetic processes related to the young age (see tumulus T593). We cannot ascertain if T1178 was a similar case; however, empty tumuli were seldom re-ported in the Wadi Tanezzuft but were usually void of any cultural material and also in those cases the question of bone preservation was raised (di Lernia et al. 2002b: 72-77).

Sub-type 1b (T399, T661, T662, T1223; T1287; Stone Structure 1 with tumuli T40 and 41)

FW T399 was located approximately in the central area of the ne-cropolis, 680 m east of the excavated compound, on the plateau slope facing the oasis. It was a circular cairn, with a good state of preservation, and the typical building of type 1 tumuli. Its maxi-mum diameter was 4.4 m and its maximum height 1.10 m ca. (Fig. 16.18). The tomb was composed of a circular lithic cist, 95 cm in maximum diameter, built on the few centimetre thick soil which covered the bedrock, where the skeleton laid. Medium sized



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face. The legs were very close together and extremely close to the chest, with the feet located near the pelvis.The artefacts and chronological attributionThe inhumation was extremely poor: only two fragments of a sin-gle bead in transparent blue-grey glass were found near the thorax area. The fragments were analysed through X microray analyses which identified a natron type glass whose colour was the result of cobalt and copper added as colorants (see Chapter 12, bead F10). This structure has many similarities to T120: the tumulus building, the position of the skeleton, the location on the slope facing the oasis (the two are located 300 m far from each other), a single blue glass bead inside the cist, close to the thorax area. They were most probably contemporary, surely belonging to the Garamantian pe-riod and possibly to the Mature phase.

FW T661 was located in the central area of the necropolis, in be-tween the two modern villages of Tan Afella and Tan Ataram, 1,150 km ca. to the NE of the excavated compound, in a surrounding which showed the highest density of drum-shaped cairns of 3b type (see Chapter 15 Fig. 15.30). While the drum-shaped tumuli were usually built on the flat areas on top of the plateau, tumulus 661 was set on the plateau slope. The structure had a circular pe-rimeter (Fig. 16.21), whose maximum diameter was 3.10 m and its maximum height 1 m ca. Its building phases were reconstructed as follows: the sandstone bedrock, covered by a few centimetres of thick red sandy-silty soil, was levelled to host the buried body inside an irregularly shaped oval stone cist, measuring 67 x 34 cm and 35 cm deep, of which 14 cm were excavated in the bedrock. The cist was built placing 6 large prismatic sandstone blocks (whose medium dimension was approximately 55 x 22 x 12 cm) around the shallow burial pit and was then covered by a single large sandstone slab (90 x 70 x 10 cm ca.). The inhumation was en-circled by a platform of medium-sized stones and slabs concen-trically arranged around it and forming the base of the tumulus whose upper part was formed by smaller stones (10-12 cm ca.), topped by a layer of pebbles.The monument was fairly well preserved, and only limited col-lapses of the outer stone perimeter were visible on the SW side. The structure was totally excavated and an E-W section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequenceSix stratigraphic units have been recorded. From the top to the bottom we have (Fig. 16.22): 1. small stones mixed with smaller peb-bles forming the top of the dome-shaped structure; 2. medium sized blocks and slabs forming the main tumulus upper structure.

blocks, ranging in size from 60 x 38 x 22 cm to 34 x 39 x 15 cm; 5. loose, yellow sand filling the lithic cist and covering the skeleton; 6. few centimetres thick reddish coarse sandy soil at the bottom of the cist, where the skeleton lied; 7. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult male (H1), 25-30 years old, was found in-side the lithic cist (Fig. 16.20). The body was tightly contracted on the left side, NE-SW oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing W (S-W). The entire body was probably wrapped in a leather shroud, as small fragments of leather were found near the skull and over the legs. The skeleton appeared very well preserved and complete. The skull was complete and the mandible maintained the articula-tion with the cranial base. The teeth showed a good state of pres-ervation, above all the posterior; the third molars were all absent (i.e. not erupted as a consequence of congenital absence), while the second lower molar of the right side was lost during life. The ribs and scapulas were quite damaged, but the remaining part of the thoracic area showed a good state of preservation. The arms were bent in front of the thorax (the right arm above the right leg, the left arm below the left leg), and the hands located near the

Fig. 16.20 – Tumulus FW T399, drawing of H1. The grey area indicates the leather shroud.

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right hand in front of the thorax. The legs were tightly contracted and close to the thorax, the feet close to each other. The scarce available space inside the cist and the position of the corpse suggest that the individual was tied and possibly wrapped in a leather shroud, as seems to be documented by scanty re-mains of leather found on the left scapula, pelvis and left fibula. The corpse was totally covered by fine sand, more compact at the

Three pot sherds and a human tooth, probably belonging to the buried individual, were collected in this layer; 3. one big slab (75 x 78 x 16 cm) covering the stone cist; 4. oval stone cist formed by 6 sandstone blocks lying at the centre of the structure; 5. fine, loose, yellow sandy sediment filling the stone cist and covering the bur-ied body. A small ceramic fragment, few fragments of date stones and the remains of a rodent fur together with some rodent bones were found; 6. bedrock, locally covered by a few centimetre thick rather compact coarse reddish sand.The burialThe structure was the burial of a child (H1), about 7-8 years old, of biologically indeterminate sex. The corpse was buried in a tightly contracted position on the right side, E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing N (Fig. 16.23). The body orientation would sug-gest that the individual was a male. The skeleton showed a good state of preservation and appeared almost complete. The skull was well preserved, while the facial skeleton was largely fragmented. The mandible was articulated with the skull and quite complete. Some teeth (permanent and some deciduous) were preserved. The state of preservation of the thoracic area was quite good. The arms were bent on the thorax, the left hand under the skull, the



Fig. 16.23 – Tumulus FW T661, drawing of H1.

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As far as date stones are concerned, in this case, their high frag-mentation was probably due to disturbance activity, maybe by rodents. Their presence also in T662, a structure resembling T661, suggests they were intentionally placed as food offering. Following to the few pottery fragments, the assumed dating of the burial is Mature Garamantian, contemporary to the excavated compound, although a later dating to the Classical Garamantian phase cannot be ruled out.

FW T662 was a conical cairn located 7 meters to the SW of FW T661, again on the slope of the sandstone plateau, and was very similar in shape and construction to the previous one (Fig. 16.25). Its maximum diameter reached 3.4 m and its maximum height was 1.10 m. The state of preservation was good above all on the N side of the structure, while some collapses were visible in the S area. The building sequence of the structure was similar to that of FW T661: the sandstone bedrock and the red sandy soil on top of it were levelled by the excavation of a shallow pit, 20 cm deep, to host the buried corpse inside a stone cist. It was oval in shape, 33 x 34 cm, E-W oriented having a maximum depth of 46 cm. This cist was built with large sandstone blocks (medium dimension ap-proximately 35 x 25 x 15 cm ca.) and covered by large sandstone slabs (70 x 40 x 30 cm ca.). The cist was then topped by a heap of medium sized stones and cobbles (25-30 cm), and finally covered by smaller cobbles to shape the cap.The structure was totally excavated and an E-W section (A-A’) was set along its centre.

bottom and looser at the top. This sandy sediment showed lami-nations and seemed to be the result of an eolian accumulation rather than an intentional filling. The presence of the human tooth in an upper layer of the structure is most probably related to dis-turbance activity. The artefacts and chronological attributionThree small undecorated ceramic fragments, probably from the body of a jar, were found in layer 2. Other three fragments were mingled in the sand filling the stone cist, among them a tiny frag-ment of rim of a medium sized jar (rim diameter 16 cm approxi-mately; Fig. 16.24). The six sherds probably pertained to a single vessel, but only less that 10% of the pot was placed in fragments inside the cairn.

Fig. 16.25 – Plan of tumulus FW T662. The dashed area indicates the pottery sherds. Fig. 16.26 – Stratigraphic sequence of tumulus FW T662.

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Fig. 16.24 – Pottery from FW T661.

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The stratigraphic sequenceSeven stratigraphic layers were recorded. From the top to the bottom we have (Fig. 16.26): 1. small cobbles forming the top of the conical structure; 2. medium sized stones and cobbles form-ing the main upper structure of the tumulus; 3. three large sand-stone slabs covering the stone cist; 4. oval stone cist lying at the centre of the structure composed of 9 sandstone blocks; 5. loose, fine, yellow sand filling the stone cist containing the buried body. This sediment was looser at the top of the cist and more compact with laminations at the bottom. Some ostrich eggshell and blue glassy faience beads were found still in situ, close to the skeleton’s pelvic area and a much larger quantity together with 24 fragments of date stones were found mingled in the sand. Traces of rodent activity and some small dens were found; 6. thin layer of coarse reddish sandy soil covering the bedrock; 7. bed-rock.The burialThe skeleton of a child (H1), about 10-11 years old and sexually inde-terminate, was unearthed inside the stone cist (Fig. 16.27). The body lay in a tightly contracted position on the left side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying to W and facing N. This orientation and the abundant presence of beads would suggest a female. The state of preservation of the skeleton was quite good. The skull showed a moderate preservation, damaged in the facial and basal regions. The mandible was articulated with the cranial base and largely fractured. Some teeth (permanent and some deciduous) were pre-served. The state of preservation of the thoracic area was fair. The arms were folded in front of the chest, with the left hand under the skull and the right one in front of the face. The legs were tightly contracted and close to the thorax; the feet were close to each other and placed below the pelvis.Like T661H1 the depositional cist was very small and also this in-dividual may have been tied and/or wrapped in a leather shroud (some remains of leather were found above the right humerus and femur and near the face). The artefacts and chronological attributionThe funerary goods associated with the body were ornaments made of ostrich eggshell and faience beads, found scattered mainly in layer 5: a total number of 191 complete ostrich eggshell beads plus 15 fragments and 242 glassy faience and faience beads were mingled in the loose sand filling the cist, while other 22 os-trich eggshell and 12 faience beads were found still in situ, close to the pelvis area (Fig. 16.28). Moreover a considerable number of similar beads, 126 in ostrich eggshell and 167 in faience, were collected outside the cairn, adjacent to the E side of the struc-

Fig. 16.27 – Tumulus FW T662, drawing of H1. The dashed area indicates the beads’ con-centration.

Fig. 16.28 – Ostrich eggshell and faience beads close to FW T662 H1 pelvis area.

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ture, scattered in a restricted area (Fig. 16.29). They were found together with a human bone fragment, probably pertaining to the buried body, and thus may have been carried outside the structure as a result of post depositional disturbance. X-ray mi-croanalyses were performed on two faience beads, very similar at first sight, shape, size and colour. One was chosen from the assemblage still related to the body (H1, bead F1) and a second from the group found outside the cairn (bead F9). They showed differences in chemical composition and in the colorant used. F9 was identified as a glassy faience for the abundance of the vitre-ous phase, moreover flux used in F1 vitreous phase was produced with the natron type glass while in F9 with soda plant ash glass (see Chapter 12).Like in T661, 24 fragments of date stones were found inside the cist, probably the remains of food offerings. A small undecorated potsherd, too small to be determined, was also found adjacent to the W side of the tumulus. The dating of the burial was probably Mature Garamantian, but again a Classical date cannot be ruled out.

FW T1223 was a conical cairn located at the SW fringes of the Fewet cemetery, on a flat sandy area at the foot of the plateau, 700 m ca. to the SE of the Fewet compound (Fig. 16.30). The state of preservation of the tumulus was good; its maximum diameter was 4 m and its maximum height 0.7 m ca. Its building construction was rather similar to FW T120, with the contracted corpse simply laid on the soil substratum, encircled by a small circular lithic cist, 80 cm in diameter, closed by sandstone slabs and then covered by a heap of cobbles and blocks forming the cairn. After the removal of the upper layer of stones, the lithic cist appeared; it was totally excavated and an NW-SE section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Five stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.31). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. medium sized prismatic cobbles and Fig. 16.30 – Plan of tumulus FW T1223.


Fig. 16.29 – Blue faience beads from FW T662.

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blocks, with an average length from 20 to 40 cm. They were mostly varnished on the upper surface; 2. three sandstone slabs whose average dimensions were 80 x 35 x 12 cm, covering the lithic cist; 3. six sandstone blocks (from 56 x 50 x 12 cm to 38 x 30 x 10 cm) forming the lithic cist; 4. loose eolian sand filling the lithic cist and containing the skeleton; 5. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adolescent (H1), 12-14 years old, of indetermi-nate sex, was found inside the lithic cist (Fig.16.32). The body lay tightly contracted on the left side, E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing S. The orientation of the body and some ana-tomical traits would suggest a male sex. The skeleton showed a good state of preservation and was complete. The cranium was complete but largely fractured, as was the face. The mandible maintained the articulation with the cranial base, and was dam-aged in its right side. Some teeth were preserved (the left M1-M3, both upper and lower), while the others appeared completely fractured. The thoracic area was slightly chaotic and showed a modest state of preservation (but for the scapulae, completely damaged). The arms were bent in front of the thorax, with the hands near the face. The legs were tightly contracted and close to the chest (probably tied) and the feet were close to each other and to the pelvis.Some small fragments of a red leather shroud were found on the legs area. The artefacts and chronological attributionSeven ostrich eggshell beads and a stone bead in local shale, probably part of the personal ornaments of the buried individual, were found in the loose sand filling the lithic cist (see Chapter 10). An AMS radiocarbon determination made on bone collagen set its age at 2060±25 uncal. years BP, but a dating on bioapathite on the same bone sample gave a slightly different result (2120±25 un-cal. years BP). Both dates gave a reasonable result for the conical tumulus, which calibrated would be attributable to the first cen-turies BC, and thus contemporary to the life span of the Fewet compound. From the preserved teeth, strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel was carried out and suggested the relation of the adolescent to the excavated village, as the strontium values are comparable to those obtained from faunal dental enamel from the compound (see Chapter 18).

FW T1287 was a large conical structure with a surrounding stone ring (Fig. 16.33) which was located at the SW fringes of the cemetery in an isolated position. It was built, in fact, in the Late Pastoral period in a sort of enclosed surrounding, a small sandy hollow encircled


Fig. 16.33 – Tumulus FW T1287.

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by sandstone outcrops and was later included in the Garamantian cemetery (Fig. 16.34). Similar huge conical tumuli with stone rings or platform have been identified during the survey, usually as isolated monuments located either to the SW or to the NE boundaries of the Garamantian cemetery (see Chapter 15). Their presence testi-fies the continuous use of the area for mortuary purposes from the Late Pastoral to the Garamantian period even if with a different im-pact and density: few highly monumental and isolated tombs with presumably multiple burials – at least from the single excavated example – to the numerous smaller and evenly scattered tumuli with single deposition of the Garamantian times. The state of preservation of the tumulus was fairly good, its maxi-mum diameter was 8.30 m and its maximum height 2 m. The circu-lar stone platform was 2.5 m wide and its maximum diameter was 19 m. The distance between the internal edge and the tumulus was 3.5 m. The structure was totally excavated and an E-W section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequenceNine stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.35). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. medium sized sandstone slabs, with an average length of more than 20 cm, varnished on the up-per side; 2. medium sized sandstone cobbles and small prismatic blocks (from 15 to 25 cm in length) in a loose sandy matrix includ-ing the skeletal remains of H1, H2 and H3. Some ostrich eggshell, carnelian and faience beads were mingled in the sand, together with some pottery sherds with incised decoration, a quartz arrow head, a quartzite flake used as a wedge and 28 date stone frag-ments; 3. medium to large sandstone slabs (from 35 to 60 cm in average length) used to cover and refine the outer structure of the


Fig. 16.34 – Sketch plan and section of FW T1287. The white diamond area at the centre of the main cairn indicates the location of H4 stone cist.

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tumulus; 4. sandstone slabs and prismatic stones in loose yellow sand. Stones are rather big, with an average length of 50 cm ca. Some ostrich eggshell beads and very tiny pottery sherds were mingled in the filling; 5. two sandstone slabs covering the lithic cist where H4, H5 and H6 were buried; 6. stone cist enclosing H4, composed of 2 sandstone slabs, one of which vertically standing just at the back of the skeleton, and three blocks enclosing the feet’s area; 7. loose yellow sand filling in the lithic cist and covering H4, H5 and H6; 8. large sandstone slabs and blocks in a sandy ma-trix, almost horizontally placed on the ground, forming a platform which leveled the sandstone bedrock on top of which the tumulus was built; 9. bedrock.The burialsTumulus T1287 was a multiple burial monument strongly disturbed in the upper part by at least one, but maybe two reopenings. Skel-etal remains belonging to 6 individuals were found in different states of preservation.The top of the tumulus was certainly reopened after the original building. In a sort of pit excavated almost at the centre of the cairn, and mingled in cobbles and sand, the remains of three individu-als were found: an adult male (H3), whose remains had a typical red colour and a rather bad state of preservation and were found scattered inside the pit’s refilling (layer 2), together with better pre-served and brown coloured bones, attributable to a proper burial of an adult female (H1). This burial was found about 80 cm under the top of the tumulus and preserved the original anatomical con-nection. Some centimetres below the cranium of H1 a second clus-ter of bones was found. These bones were scattered and lacking anatomical connections and belonged to a single individual, a 3-4 years old child (H2) (Fig. 16.36). A lithic cist, less coherent than those found in structures dated to the Garamantian times, containing the earliest deposition in the stone monument was found almost at the centre of the structure, just below the skeletal remains of H1. It was an adult female (H4), with few remains of two children, H5 and H6, respectively 5-6 and 2-3 years old (Fig. 16.37).T1287 (H1) was an adult female, 18-20 years old. The body lay contract-ed on the right side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and fac-ing S. The anatomical elements ascribed to this burial showed a fair state of preservation. The cranium and the face were fragmented. The mandible was preserved but had lost the articulation with the cranial base. Only some fragments of teeth were recovered. The tho-racic area was poorly preserved. The arms were bent in front of the thorax, with the hands in front of the face. The legs were contracted and the feet located under the pelvis. The left leg maintained the

Fig. 16.37 – Tumulus FW T1287, drawing of H4, H5. Few remains of H6 were found under H4 pelvis area.

Fig. 16.36 – Tumulus FW T1287, drawing of H1 and H2.

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the thorax, and the hands were near the face; the legs were con-tracted, the left foot was located near the pelvis.The remains of individual T1287 (H5) were found near H4, and can be attributed to a child, 5-6 years old, of indeterminate sex. The skeleton showed a bad state of preservation and was largely in-complete, being represented only by few districts: a portion of the right ulna, a portion of the right fibula and one thoracic vertebra. The bad state of preservation and the incompleteness/disorder of the skeletal elements found did not allow us to identify the original position and orientation of the corpse.The remains of the individual T1287 (H6) were recovered few cm be-low the pelvis of H4. It is a 2-3 years old child of indeterminate sex, and was represented only by a portion of the right tibia and some fragments of vertebrae. Also in this case the bad state of preserva-tion and the incompleteness of the skeletal remains did not allow us to identify the original position and orientation of the corpse.The artefacts and chronological attributionThe majority of grave goods were found scattered in the refilling stones and sand covering H1, H2 and H3, but not directly related to the human bones. A total of 161 beads (153 ostrich eggshell, 5 carnelian and 3 faience) were collected in layer 1 and 2. In addition, two lithic artefacts were also found, i.e. a white quartz tanged ar-row head and a quartzite flake used as a wedge. The majority of the pottery fragments also come from these lay-ers (48 pottery sherds), thus they were probably related to bodies H3 and H1-2 (Fig. 16.38). Two small fragments of a difficult to date red polished bowl with a coarse fabric were found in the upper-most layer 1. Layer 2 returned fragments of a bowl with rim top notches and a bowl with an incised herring-bone pattern decora-tion on the rim band. Both vessels have a fine fabric and smooth or self-slipped reddish-brown surfaces. There are many undecorated fragments, most of which should belong to the aforementioned

original anatomical position as did the right femur. The right tibia and fibula were dislocated from the articulation with the femur. This could suggest a post-depositional disturbance of the burial. T1287 (H2) was a child, 3-4 years old, of indeterminate sex. This burial was represented by a cluster of bone fragments, scattered and lacking any anatomical connection, found some centimetres below the cranium of H1: fragments of the pelvis, some vertebrae, and fragments of cranium. The bad state of preservation and the incompleteness and disorder of the skeletal elements did not al-low the identification of the original position and orientation of the corpse.T1287 (H3) is represented by a homogeneous group of skeletal frag-ments (badly preserved and red in colour) found in layers 1 and 2. The skeletal robustness and the morphology of the cranial re-mains suggested that the individual was an adult male, over 40 years old. The bad state of preservation and the incompleteness/disorder of the skeletal elements did not allow the identification of the original position and orientation of the corpse. The skeletal districts found were: large portions of the skull vault, fragments of maxilla and mandible (while the teeth were not preserved), some elements of the thoracic area (some vertebrae, ribs, portions of the scapulae); some portions of the pelvis and upper and lower limbs; some elements of hands and feet. T1287 (H4) was recovered in a lithic cist located close to the base of the tumulus and showed a bad state of preservation and large incompleteness. It was an adult female, 20-30 years old, who lay tightly contracted on the left side, N/W-S/E oriented, with the skull lying at N/W and facing N-N/E. The anatomical elements found were: some fragments of the cranium, the scapulas, some ribs and vertebrae; portions of the left humerus and left ulna; fragments of the sacrum, pelvis, of the two femurs, of the left tibia, and some elements of the feet. The arms were presumably bent in front of

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Fig. 16.38 – Ceramics from tumulus FW T1287: (A) bowl with parallel incised lines on the rim; (B) bowl with an incised herring-bone pattern decoration on the rim band; (C) clay ring, maybe used as pendant.

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pierced ware pendant was located under the mandible (…). Many joint ostrich eggshell beads were placed over the left scapula» (di Lernia et al. 2002b: 126). Ostrich eggshell, carnelian and faience beads were found also in our deposition, in similar percentages: the majority of beads being in ostrich eggshell (95%), while there were only rare round shaped carnelian beads (3%) and even fewer faience beads (2%). The clay ring, probably used as a pendant, is very similar in shape and size to the one found in T1287 and the same is true for the tanged arrowhead, which showed no traces of wear. It is possible that all these objects, found scattered in a simi-lar way as the human bones of H1, were originally put in a proper pit on the upper part of the tumulus structure and were the grave goods associated with the adult male burial, which was later dis-placed by the last reopening. Carnelian and faience beads were only found in the uppermost layer while ostrich eggshell beads were also collected from the bot-tom of the tumulus related to the earliest burials (Fig. 16.39). X-ray microanalysis carried out on a turquoise faience bead from layer 2 revealed the use of both copper and tin as colorant, probably by

vessels. A pottery ring, maybe used as pendant, was unearthed in layer 2. All vessels are dated to the Late/Final Pastoral phase. Twenty-eight date stones, probably remains of food offerings, were also collected from layer 2.From the bottom layers associated to the deposition of H4, 65 os-trich eggshell beads were found mingled in the stones and sand of layer 4, together with a total of 9 tiny fragments of pottery that were too small to be diagnostic. No artefacts were placed inside the stone cist, close to the buried individuals.Tumulus 1287 was built as an isolated and monumental struc-ture, before the development of the Garamantian cemetery. It has many typical features of the Late Pastoral funerary practices brought to light by the excavations of the Tanezzuft Valley transect in 1999 and these differ from the evidence from the proto-histori-cal phases. The monument was originally made for the burial of at least three individuals: an adult female with two children (H4, H5 and H6). The children’s ages and their burial in the same lithic cist as the adult female would suggest parental relations between the three (a mother with two small children). A radiocarbon date from a bone sample of H4 gave the uncalibrated date 3590±40 years BP (ox cal: 2039-1874 cal BC - 88.5%).The skeletal remains of H1 and H2 were certainly the result of a later reopening of the main tumulus, and again their deposition, close to each other, would suggest a parental relation (mother and child). The remains of H3, the only adult male found inside the monument, presented the worst state of preservation: they were scattered inside the refilling of H1 and H2 pit, and were probably disarticulated by the female and child deposition. Two hypothesis are thus possible: either H3 was buried contemporary to H4, H5 and H6, and the original monument was a kind of fam-ily funerary grave, or the adult male was buried in a second phase and later disturbed by a third reopening related to the deposi-tion of H1 and H2.The majority of the funerary goods seems associated to the burials in the upper part of the monument. The kind of grave goods has strong similarities to the ones found in Wadi Tanezzuft Site 96/129 T1 and T2, especially T2 H1 (see di Lernia et al. 2002b: fig. 16.5.73). They were two adjacent conical tumuli with multiple burials (11 individu-als in T1 and 6 in T2) with a very long period of use spanning from the beginning of the 4th to the beginning of the 3rd millennium BP, and several reactivation of the graves (di Lernia et al. 2002b: 119-138). Related to burial 96/129 T2 H1, of an adult male: «Two carnelian beads were found respectively near the right humerus and under the left scapula, while a tanged arrowhead of red quartzite was found near the hip. A faience bead was found near the thorax. A

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Fig. 16.39 – Ostrich eggshell and carnelian beads from tumulus FW T1287.

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diameter of the beads of all other tumuli dated to the Garamantian times). In addition, it showed that a stone tool had been utilised to pierce the beads, instead of the metal tool generally used in the proto-historical times (see Chapter 10). As far as pottery is concerned, all diagnostic fragments are attrib-utable to the Late Pastoral horizon: at least three different bowls were identified but with a high degree of fragmentation and form-ing only a small percentage of the original entire vessel. As ob-served for site 96/129 T1 and T2, the ceramics probably entered the archaeological record in form of already broken parts of vessels, not deposed with the corpses, but in the structure covering them (di Lernia et al. 2002b: 134).The arrow head and quartzite flake (E. Cancellieri; C. Lemorini)The arrow head was rather small. Length: 18 mm; width: 9 mm; thickness: 3 mm (Fig. 16.40). Fine technological insights about the production of the arrow head blank were precluded by the pres-ence of flat covering bifacial retouch on most of it. Nevertheless, in all likelihood, the arrow head was made on a small quartz flake rather than a bladelet. Part of the ventral face was preserved and showed that the flaking direction of the raw blank was perpendic-ular to the morphological axis of the artefact. Two series of retouch were recognized, both likely due to pressure: the first modified the volume by flat invasive detachments, resulting also in some hing-ing on the dorsal face, while the second was only on the outer pe-riphery of the artefact in order to shape its outline. The point was slightly déjeté from the morphological axis. The tang was formed

adding a bronze slag in the faience working process (see Chapter 12 bead F4). While the use of copper is attested from the beginning of faience production in Egypt, the use of bronze slags is usually dated only from the 16th century BC on (see Chapter 12). If we consider the radiocarbon date from the bone of H4 (2039-1874 cal BC), an interval of several centuries would separate the earliest burial in the tumu-lus to at least one of the latest. As previously mentioned, this long use of a single grave seems typical of the Late and Final Pastoral period and not attested for the Garamantian times, at least in the Fewet cemetery that has been investigated to date. Morpho-functional analysis performed on ostrich eggshell beads revealed a difference in size compared with the later ostrich egg-shell beads (the beads in T1287 were generally almost twice the

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Fig. 16.41 – Quartzite flake used as wedge, from tumulus FW T1287 (A); details of the scars developed on its distal (B) and proximal (C) margins.

Fig. 16.40 – An arrow head from tumulus FW T1287.

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suggestion that this object was a sort of miniature object, perhaps an ornament with a symbolic value, cannot be ruled out.The big quartzite flake (length: 147 mm; width: 84 mm; thickness: 21 mm) is, indeed, a ‘real’ tool as testified by the large amount of scars that have developed on its distal and proximal (Fig. 16.41A-C) mar-gins. Morphology and distribution of scars suggest that the tool was used as a wedge; the distal margin was in contact with the material worked and the proximal part was the percussive area. Stone Structure 1 (FW SS1) is a unique monument, located at the SW fringes of the Fewet cemetery, on top of the sandstone plateau facing the modern village of Tan Afella, and only 500 m from the S-SE of the excavated compound (see Chapter 15). The main structure is a kind of irregular circle of stones, both ly-ing and exploiting the sandstone outcrops present in the area (Fig. 16.42). Several big parallelepiped blocks, having an average measure of approximately 50/60 x 30/40 x 20/30 cm, were verti-cally laid on the ground, to form an irregular ovoid ring, with two kinds of lobes to the W and to the S, 26.60 m long E-W and 12.80 m large N-S. An empty space on the E may have been a kind of entrance. The inner area was almost empty, only three small pottery fragments dated to the Middle Pastoral period, for the alternative pivoting stamp return technique decoration, were found, but are not necessarily related to the stone circle. The only chronological indication for the structure is the fact that it surely predated three conical the dome-shaped type tumuli (1b) which were built both along the circle line (T41 and T42) and on what may have been the structure entrance (T40) (Fig. 16.43). Tumulus

by two deep notches, providing the arrow head with rather long wings. The arrow head showed no impact scars or other traces. This tool shared some traits with one recovered as grave good of H1 at 96/129 T2 (di Lernia et al. 2002b: fig. 9.1.3). Although the lat-ter was made on reddish quartzite and was slightly larger (30 mm length), it similarly showed rather straight edges, flat covering bi-facial retouch and a well delineated tang made by two profound notches. It equally lacked impact scars and other use wear traces (Cristiani and Lemorini 2002). From a ‘stylistic’ and typological point of view, the arrow head of T1287 can be safely framed within the Late Pastoral of the same general area. Arrow head and flake found in layer 2 of tumulus T1287 were ana-lysed with a stereomicroscope (Nikon SMZ; oculars 10X, objective 0.5X, magnification range 0.75X-7.5X) and a metallographic micro-scope (Nikon Eclipse ; oculars 10X, objectives 10X, 20X) provided with a reflecting light system. This kind of integrated observation identifies and interprets the modifications the surface of stone tools were subjected to during their use (Rots 2010). The arrow head does not show any impact scar or polish, testify-ing its use as tip of a projectile point. This result does not mean that the item was not used at all. Impact on soft animal tissues can produce no traces and leave the tip intact. Nevertheless, this ar-row head seems too small to inflict serious wounds unless poison is added to enhance is killing power (as an example, for ethno-graphic documentation of this hunting technique see Patou 1987). This technique may have been in use at that time. However, the

Fig. 16.43 – Map of Stone structure FW SS1. The grey areas are sandstone outcrops.Fig. 16.42 – Stone structure FW SS1, panoramic view.0 2.5 5 m

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T41 was built over the stones of the monument while tumulus T42 rested on one of the big blocks forming the structure. Of the three tombs, only two appeared rather well preserved and were selected for excavation (FW T40 and T41).

FW T40 was a small conical tumulus in a very good state of pres-ervation, measuring 2.57 m in diameter and 80 cm ca. in height (Fig. 16.44). The building sequence and technique were similar to T120 and T1223, with the contracted corpse placed directly on the ground, encircled by sandstone blocks forming a lithic cist (maxi-mum diameter 93 cm) subsequently closed by sandstone slabs and covered by a small, compact heap of blocks and cobbles. The structure was totally excavated and a NW-SE section (A-A’) was set along its centre. The stratigraphic sequence Five stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.45) From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small prismatic sandstone blocks covering the tumulus lithic cist; 2. two sandstone slabs covering the lithic cist (average measurement 85 x 45 x 25 cm); 3. lithic cist composed of 11 prismatic stones, encircling the skeleton; 4. loose yellow sand filling the lithic box; 5. Bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult female (H1), 35-40 years old, was found inside the lithic cist (Fig. 16.46). The body was tightly contracted on the left side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and facing N. The individual appeared very well preserved and complete. Her skull was complete, although slightly damaged in the facial region and the mandible maintained the articulation with the cranial base. The teeth, both upper and lower, were very damaged; in ad-diction many mandibular teeth had been lost during the life of the individual (particularly the posterior teeth of the left side, the second premolar of the right side and the central incisors), while the bad state of preservation of the maxilla did not allow the thorough assessment of the preserved teeth. The state of preservation of the thoracic area (above all the ribs) was not as good as the other regions of the skeleton, while the bones of the arms and legs maintained a perfect anatomical connection. The right arm was bent on the thorax, with the right hand lo-cated between the two legs, the left arm was bent in front of the thorax and the left hand positioned under the skull. Both the legs were tightly contracted, with the feet located under the pel-vis. The corpse was wrapped in a leather shroud whose remains were found mostly in the pelvic and leg areas. The wrinkles of the leather left a negative impression on the substratum soil.

Fig. 16.44 – Plan of tumulus FW T40. The grey area indicates a concentration of pottery sherds.


Fig. 16.46 – Tumulus FW T40, drawing of H1. The grey area indicates the remains of a leather shroud.

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upper surface showed that the slabs covering the lithic box were left in situ. This cairn rested on a sandstone outcrop and the lithic cist was built exploiting an outcrop’s wall and some huge blocks taken from the same rock. It was then closed with three large slabs and fi-nally covered by a small layer of sandstone blocks. The structure was excavated setting a NW-SE section (A-A’) along its centre. The stratigraphic sequence Six stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.49). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. loose yellow sand and few sandstone slabs displaced by robbing activity; 2. three big slabs, whose aver-age measurement was 80 x 30 x 20 cm ca., closing the lithic cist; 3. lithic cist, 93 cm long along the E-W axis and 90 cm along the N-S one, composed of three large slabs (average measurement 74 x 62 x 30 cm) delimiting the E-N-W sides, and six prismatic blocks delimit-

The artefacts and chronological attributionAn almost complete jar was found scattered in several fragments on top of the cairn (Fig. 16.47). It was a wide-mouthed, everted rim, globular jar, the most common vessel shape both in the necropolis and in the excavated compound, and its external decoration was both impressed and incised. The motif was an unpatterned cord impression, covering the body with incised wavy lines, applied on the join between the rim band and the shoulders. This motif was rarely unearthed in the Fewet compound, while it is more com-mon in the Aghram Nadharif ceramics repertoire, hence the tu-mulus could be dated to the Classical/Late Garamantian period. The state of fragmentation and the presence of rather large sherds suggest that in this case the entire pot was on top of the tumu-lus. During the survey a complete jar with an incised decoration on the neck composed of parallel horizontal lines with diagonal smaller incisions filling the spaces between them was found on top of FW T644, a conical tumulus of type 1b.

FW T41 was a circular cairn with a rectangular annex adjacent to the southern side of the external perimeter (Fig.16.48). It presented a rather good state of preservation; its maximum diameter was 3.97 m and its maximum height 1.6 m ca. The rectangular annex rested on a sandstone outcrop to the S and was built using six prismatic stones which enclosed an area measuring 87 cm E-W x 47 cm N-S. It was probably covered by a slab but this small structure was looted and found empty, filled only with loose windblown sand. The pres-ence of this annex in what proved to be a male burial is the only case among the excavated structures of the Fewet cemetery. The annexes excavated, both found empty (FW T669) or with very young children (FW T1197; FW T1261), were in fact usually related to female inhumations. The main tumulus was only partially looted in its upper part, and the upper stone blocks removed. But the cleaning of the


Fig. 16.47 – Fragment of a jar with roulette impressions and incisions on top of FW T40.

Fig. 16.49 – Stratigraphic sequence of tumulus T41.

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ing the S side; 4. loose yellow sand filling the lithic cist; 5. few centi-metres of thick coarse reddish sand, under the skeleton; 6. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult male (H1), 30-35 years old, was found inside the lithic cist (Fig. 16.50A-B). The skeleton showed a very good state of preservation and completeness and lay tightly contracted on his left side; it had been completely wrapped in a leather shroud, fragments of which were found particularly well preserved in the legs/feet area. The body was E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing S. The upper part of the body faced the ground, almost in a ventral position. The skull and face were complete; the man-dible maintained the articulation with the cranial base. The teeth showed a good state of preservation, except for the maxillary an-terior ones (incisors and canines of both sides and left premolars). The state of preservation of the thoracic area was good but for the scapulas, partially damaged. The bones of the arms and legs were intact and maintained a perfect anatomical connection. The right arm was bent on the thorax, with the right hand located between the two legs; the left arm was bent under the thorax and the left hand positioned under the skull. Both legs were tightly contracted, with the feet located under the pelvis. The artefacts and chronological attributionSeven small undecorated body sherds were found on the top of the tumulus, and can only be generally dated to the Garamantian period. An AMS radiocarbon dating on bone collagen set its age to 2390±40 uncal. years BP, which would result in a calibrated date ranging from 554 to 390 BC (80.8% probability OxCal). This early date, which might be possible and would predate the excavated village at Fewet, seems too early if compared to the ar-chaeological context in which the tumulus was inserted. A shift of at least five centuries from T40 (dated most probably to the Clas-sical Garamantian period from the pottery assemblage, which is rather small in quantity but also very typical) might be possible but seems rather odd, considering the peculiar location of tumuli T40, 41 and 42. A strontium isotope ratio has been carried out on dental enamel, and would put the origin of H1 in a similar environ-ment as some tumuli dated to the Classical and Late Garamantian times located in the necropolis central area (see Chapter 18). In this case the possibility that a date on bone collagen could be rejected has to be considered. A dating to the Classical/Late Garamantian phase would better fit the archaeological datum.

16.3.2 Excavated type 2 tumuli

Tumuli classified as type 2 in the general typology of the Fewet cemetery represented approximately 25% of the tombs (Chapter

A

Fig. 16.50 – Tumulus FW T41, drawing (A) and photo (B) of H1. The grey area indicates the remains of a leather shroud.

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single huge sandstone slab. The tumulus perimeter wall rested on a bedrock outcrop on its western side, and was originally composed of two rows of prismatic sandstone blocks. The structure was exca-vated with a NW-SE section (A-A’) set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Seven stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.53). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. pebbles and cobbles from small to

15 Fig. 15.10), and were interpreted as a sort of transitional structure from the simple conical cairn to the drum-shaped tumulus. Excava-tion of six structures attributed to type 2a (T1191, T1197) and 4 to type 2b (T593, T1210, T1226, T1261) was carried out (Fig. 16.51). The majority of the excavated structures was located at the SW fringes of the Fewet cemetery, where their density was higher (see Chapter 15 Fig. 15.30); the only cairn located in the necropolis central area (FW T593) turned out to be more similar in structure to type 1b, because the reinforced perimeter at the base, after the cleaning and excavation, proved to be a sandstone outcrop on top of which the structure was built. In general terms, the inner structure of type 2 tumuli was quite similar to type 3 and their building sequence rather compa-rable. A shallow burial pit was first excavated in the bedrock where the corpse was laid and then surrounded by a lithic cist. The cist was closed with sandstone slabs and an outer perimeter wall was arranged at a certain distance from the lithic cist (1.5 to 2 m approxi-mately), forming the outer perimeter of the cairn. The inner space between perimeter wall and cist was then filled with medium sized sandstone slabs and blocks after which the tomb was topped with smaller cobbles which usually covered the whole structure and had a conical shape. The main difference between type 2 and type 3 tu-muli was the height of the outer perimeter wall, smaller and often less homogeneous in construction, and the well defined cylindrical shape of the drum-shaped type in comparison to the more conical one of type 2. The four radiocarbon dates available furnished a uni-form and quite limited chronological span of the type 2 tumuli from the 4th to the 1st centuries BC, i.e. a period both immediately prior to and then contemporary to the earliest occupational phase of the excavated compound (see Table 16.III).

Type 2a: T1191, T1197

FW T1191 was a circular cairn, 600 m ca. to the S-SE of the exca-vated compound, located on a flat sandy depression at the foot of the plateau. The structure was rather well preserved and only on its northern side some stones had slightly collapsed from the top of the tumulus. Its maximum diameter was 3.20 m and its maximum height 0.9 m (Fig. 16.52). Adjacent to the eastern side two huge sandstone slabs were found on the ground: their size and shape, unlike the rest of the stones forming the outer structure of the cairn, and their position to the E, where the head of the buried individual was found, indicate they might originally have been two standing slabs, that later collapsed on the ground. The lithic cist was built around a circular, shallow burial pit (15 cm deep), which levelled the bedrock. Its maximum diameter was 91 cm and it was closed by a

Fig. 16.51 – Map of excavated type 2 tumuli.


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medium size (3-15 cm), often varnished on the upper surface; 2. tabular and prismatic cobbles larger than the previous ones (up to 30 cm in length), slightly cemented in a yellow sand. A single pot-tery fragment was found; 3. one huge large slab (90 x 62 x 15 cm), covering the lithic cist. On the W part of the structure the slab rest-ed directly on the bedrock; 4. lithic cist composed of 8 sandstone blocks whose dimensions ranged from a maximum of 68 x 47 x 23 cm to a minimum of 36 x 33 x 20 cm; 5. loose eolian sand filling the lithic cist and covering the skeleton; 6. few cm thick coarse reddish soil under the buried body; 7. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult male (H1), 25-30 years old, was found in-side the stone cist (Fig. 16.54). The body was tightly contracted on the left side, E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing S. The skeleton showed a fair state of preservation and appeared com-plete. The skull was complete, the face was partially damaged and the mandible articulated. Only some teeth were preserved, the others were lost during life, as shown by the complete resorption of the alveoli. The state of preservation of the thoracic area was modest, the ribs and scapulae damaged. The right arm was bent on the thorax with the right hand located near the knees, while the left arm was extended under the legs, with the left hand lo-cated near the wall of the burial. The legs were strongly contracted and the feet close to each other, and located near the burial wall.The artefacts and chronological attributionThe only artefact found mingled with the stones of the structure’s filling was a small undecorated body pertaining to an undetermi-nable vessel. No pottery was found outside the cairn. The sherd was located just under the first layer, close to the top of the struc-ture. A single date stone was collected inside the lithic cist, in the sand covering the skeleton. Fig. 16.54 – Tumulus FW T1191, drawing of H1.


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An AMS radiocarbon dating performed on bone collagen set its age at 2200±40 years uncal. BP, which would correspond to a period from the 4th to the 2nd century BC, partly contemporary to the earliest oc-cupational phase of the excavated compound. From the preserved teeth a strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel was performed and the resulting value is comparable to the ratio obtained from the faunal sample collected in the excavated village (see Chapter 18).

FW T1197 was an oval structure, located 35 m to the E-SE of the pre-vious grave, on the same sandy flat area at the foot of the plateau, in the SW border of the Fewet cemetery (Fig. 16.55). The tumulus was well preserved and measured 5.2 m along the maximum axis, 3 m ca. on the shorter one and was 0.8 m high. The preliminary impression of a single structure was modified at the beginning of the excavation, when the first layer of cobbles was removed from

the top of the cairn and a main circular grave surrounded by four smaller semi-circular annexes was brought to light. Two annexes were adjacent to the N side and the other two on the S side (Fig. 16.56). The monument was apparently built in a single phase, as both main lithic cist and annexes were covered by a uniform layer of cobbles and the desert vanish was evenly spread on the up-per slabs and absent on the lower levels. This would mean an al-most contemporary death of the five individuals: one adult female and four small children, two newborns, one small child aged 0-6 months and one about 3 years of age. The structure was totally ex-cavated and a NW-SE section (A-A’) was set along its centre, cross-ing also the NE and SE annexes.The stratigraphic sequenceFifteen stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.57). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. irregular prismatic pebbles and cob-

Fig. 16.55 – Plan of tumulus FW T1197. The grey dot is the finding place of pottery sherds. Fig. 16.56 – General view of tumulus FW T1197 with main structure and annexes. Frag-ments of two small jars are indicated by the grey dots.

Fig. 16.57 – Stratigraphic sequence of FW T1197.

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and reddish sand over the bedrock; 7. two slabs, sized 60 x 40 x 15 cm ca., covering respectively the SE and SW annexes lithic cists; 8. S annexes external wall; 9. loose yellow sand filling the S annexes and covering H2 and H3. A blue-green glass bead was mingled in the sand; 10. compact layer of a coarse and reddish sand over the bed-rock; 11. two slabs sized 35 x 25 x 10 cm ca., covering the N annexes cists; 12. N annexes external wall; 13. loose yellow sand filling the N annexes and covering H4 and H5; 14. compact layer of a coarse and reddish sand over the bedrock; 15. bedrock.The burialsT1197 (H1) was an adult female 30-40 years old, found inside the stone cist of the central area of the tumulus (Fig. 15.58). The body was tightly contracted in a prone-like position (ventral decubitus), W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and facing S. The skeleton showed a bad state of preservation, even though it appeared al-most complete. The cranium and the face were strongly fractured, the mandible was preserved. Only some teeth were preserved (the incisors and the right canine of the maxilla and the right canine

bles of different size (3-15 cm), often varnished on the upper surface. Twenty-one fragments of a jar with incised decoration were found among the upper cobbles; 2. prismatic cobbles and sandstone slabs (ranging from 20 to 60 cm in length), in a slightly cemented sand, laid concentrically to build the main structure of the tumulus. In this layer 25 fragments of the same jar were collected together with other two undecorated small jars, whose fragments were con-centrated on top of the wall separating the NE and NW annexes (4 fragments of an undecorated rim and 4 body fragments) and on the western side of the SW annex (3 pieces of an undecorated rim and 10 fragments of undecorated bodies). In addition, a frag-ment of a small spouted bowl was found on top of the SW annex; 3. two huge slabs covering the main stone cist (maximum dimension: 136 x 60 x 17 cm); 4. main cairn lithic cist composed of 9 sandstone blocks whose dimension ranged from 55 x 36 x 25 cm to 37 x 33 x 15 cm; 5. loose yellow sand filling the lithic cist and covering the skeleton H1. Eleven pottery sherds pertaining to the jar with incised decoration were mingled in the sand; 6. compact layer of a coarse

Fig. 16.58 – Tumulus FW T1197, drawing of H1, H2, H3 and H5. Remains of H4 were too poorly preserved to be drawn.

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H1

H5

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H3


The artefacts and chronological attributionCeramic fragments were found as grave goods in a specific dispo-sition: three small jars were clearly located one in relation to the main burial, the other two respectively associated to the N and S annexes (Fig. 16.59 a-d). In the main tumulus, a small everted rim jar with incised triangles at the shoulder laid in small spots from the top of the tumulus to the sandy filling of the burial (Fig. 16.59a). The majority of the sherds were located in the two upper layers, and only few small fragments were located inside the lithic cist. The high fragmentation and different disposal of the fragments would imply an intentional breakage and a specific insertion of the pot’s pieces throughout the main building phases of the cairn: the cist, the slabs forming the bulk of the structure and finally its top. No

personal ornaments were found with the adult female skeleton. Small pieces of red coloured leather were found on the skeleton’s left arm, and they may be the remains of a shroud covering the tightly contracted body. In association with the N and S annexes two undecorated small jars were found in pieces each in a single spot. In this case the two pots were located in the layer sealing the stone cists and were not scattered. One jar was located on H2 lithic cist external wall, to the SW of the structure, the second was put close to the slab sealing H5 lithic cist (Fig. 16.59A). However both vessels could be generally related to the northern and south-ern areas. Close to the jar over the southern annexes, a fragment of a possible oddly shaped bowl has been recovered. It is a small spouted bowl, which could be used either as a lamp (but in this case was never lit, as no burning traces were present), or as a kind of pouring tool. The paste and surface treatment would date the sherd to the Late/Final Pastoral horizon, it could be an older sherd reused in the Garamantian period (see Chapter 4 for a similar case in room FW6 of the excavated compound) (Fig. 16.59B-C). In the

and first premolar of the mandible): many of the other teeth were lost during life and the alveoli completely reabsorbed. The thoracic area was largely damaged. The right arm was bent below the tho-rax, the left arm bent beside the thorax. The right leg contracted beside the thoracic region, the left leg contracted below the body, the feet located near the pelvis.T1197 (H2), recovered in the annex located at SW of the main central area of the tumulus, was a child aged between 0-6 months and indeterminate sex. The bad state of preservation and the incom-pleteness of the skeletal elements prevented the understanding of the exact position of the body, while it was possible to register the orientation of the corpse, which lay W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and facing N/E. This orientation would suggest a female. The skeletal elements found were: fragments of the skull (fractured by the weight of the sediment), fragments of the right femur and a portion of the left ulna. T1197 (H3), recovered in the annex located at SE of the main central area of the tumulus, was a child of about 3 years of age, of inde-terminate sex and showed a moderate state of preservation and completeness. The body lay tightly contracted on the left side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and facing N. Again, the orienta-tion of the body would suggest a female. The cranium was com-plete, though fractured particularly in the facial region: it showed a peculiar shape due to the deformation induced by the weight of the sediment. The mandible was articulated with the cranial base and complete. Some deciduous teeth were preserved (all the up-per and lower molars, and the right lower canine). The thoracic area was badly preserved. The arms were bent on the thorax, the legs strongly contracted and the feet located below the pelvis. T1197 (H4), found in the annex located at NW of the main central area of the tumulus, was a newborn or a foetus at term (8-9 lunar months), of indeterminate sex. The bad state of preservation and the incompleteness of the skeletal elements prevented the under-standing of the exact position and the orientation of the corpse. The skeletal elements found were: fragments of the skull, ribs and a portion of the left humerus. T1197 (H5), recovered in the annex located at NE of the main central area of the tumulus, was a newborn or a foetus at term (8-9 lunar months). The bad state of preservation and the incompleteness of the skeletal elements prevented the understanding of the exact position (probably contracted on the left side), while it was possible to register the orientation of the corpse: W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and facing N. This orientation would suggest that the in-dividual was a female. The skeletal elements found were: some por-tions of the skull and of the right femur, right tibia and left humerus.

B C

Fig. 16.59 – Three small jars (A) and a spouted bowl (B and C) from tumulus FW T1197.

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282 L . M o r i , F . r i c c i

Garamantian ceramic repertoire it is a unique find. All the vessels seem to be dated to the Mature Garamantian phase, contempo-rary to the compound. Two beads were also found in association with two children; in the loose sand filling of H2 cist a blue-green glass bead was found, like-wise a small ostrich eggshell bead was present in the sand filling H4 cist. X microray analysis performed on the glass bead revealed its complex composition: it could not be attributed either to na-tron or to soda-lime-silica glass. Copper associated with iron was the main colouring agent, with a small concentration of cobalt (see Chapter 12, bead F8).Like all other ostrich eggshell beads of the Garamantian phase, morpho-functional study of the single ostrich eggshell bead re-lated to H4 showed the use of an iron tool in the drilling process (see Chapter 10).Radiocarbon dating agrees with the ceramics chronological attribu-tion: an AMS dating on H1 bone collagen set its age to 2230±40 un-cal. years BP, resulting in a calibrated date ranging from 389-202 BC. A strontium isotope ratio calculated on H1 dental enamel set its value in the cluster comparable to the faunal remains from the excavated compound (see Chapter 18).CommentsThe tumulus is the only cairn with multiple annexes excavated in the necropolis and provides extremely interesting information on funerary practices. The first question to be raised is, of course, the kind of relation between the 5 individuals brought to light.



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40 cm deep. The structure was completely excavated and a SW-NE section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequenceSix stratigraphic layers have been recorded (Fig. 16.61). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small pebbles (4-10 cm long), with sharp-ened edges, completely varnished on the upper surface; 2. larger prismatic blocks and slabs (from 20 to 50 cm in length) concentrical-ly placed to form the main bulk of the structure. Some larger blocks (up to 70 cm in length) were used at the bottom of the structure; 3. two slabs (70 x 60 x 18 and 50 x 45 x 13 cm in dimension) covering the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist composed of 8 sandstone blocks, ranging from a maximum of 45 x 37 cm to a minimum of 27 x 16 cm; 5. loose, yellow sand filling the lithic cist and covering the skeleton; 6. bedrock.The burialSkeletal remains belonging to a foetal/neonatal individual (H1) were found inside the lithic cist (Fig. 16.62). The individual showed a very bad state of preservation and was represented only by some small fragments of the skull (mainly of the temporal bones), concentrated in the SW area of the cist. The poor state of preservation and ana-tomical incompleteness of the skeleton was probably due to diage-netic processes related to the age of the individual and to the low level of mineralization of the bone tissue.

As mentioned above, the structure appeared as a single phase monument, no traces of stone displacement were evident and the general outlook of the tumulus before the excavation was rather uniform. Of course, the four annexes could also have been added shortly after the inhumation of the main cairn, but apparently not after a long span of time. Parental relation between the five would be a plausible explanation: already from the Pastoral period evi-dence the practice of infanticide associated with a mother’s death was assumed and in several tumuli excavated in the Wadi Tanez-zuft a mother and small child/children were buried together (di Ler nia et al. 2002b: 241). The fact that the two smallest human re-mains were foeti or newborns could suggest that the mother died from a miscarriage or difficult parturition of twins, which resulted in the consequent death of other two small children whose sub-sistence was provided by the same adult female. A further com-plication comes from the fact that the ages of the three youngest children are not fully compatible with an affiliation to the same mother: two were foeti/newborns while the third was 0-6 months old. We should hypothesize a mother taking care also of a small child which was not her own.Unlike the evidence from the Late Pastoral phase, both in the Wadi Tanezzuft transect and in tumulus T1287 at Fewet, here the new-borns inhumated with the adult female were deposed each in single lithic cist adjacent to the main structure and not together with their assumed mother. This is also true for the only other tumu-lus with a child inhumation preserved inside an annex excavated at Fewet, FW T1261, where again an adult female was buried in the main cairn and a very small child (0-6 months old) was placed in the small annex adjacent to the main tumulus (see in the following). This care in keeping separate cists for each individual is a typical feature of the Garamantian funerary custom at Fewet, which will be further discussed in the following.

Subtype 2b (T593, T1210, T1226, T1261)

FW T593 was a conical structure located in the necropolis central area, 15 m N of T669, at the foot of the same slope where T661 and T 662 were built (Fig. 16.60). It showed a good state of preservation and was completely varnished on the surface. It was round in plan, and measured 3.40 m in diameter and 1 m in height. Its base rested on a sandstone outcrop which formed part of its reinforced perimeter. Several huge blocks taken from the outcrop itself were used to build the structure platform. The skeleton lay in a shallow burial pit (15 cm deep), built by simply smoothing the bedrock, and was encircled by a stone cist of irregular plan, measuring 62 cm E-W by 47 cm N-S and


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The artefacts and chronological attributionOnly a tiny fragment of red colour leather (less than a centimetre in dimension) was found close the poorly preserved human remains, maybe part of a small shroud. The grave is noteworthy because it shows no relation between tumulus dimension and inhumation, at least for the conical structures (see Tab. 16.I), and also that newborns who did not die contemporaneously to their mothers were buried in the same way as adults: similar lithic cist and monument, both in building technique and in dimensions, following a tradition which dates back to the Final Pastoral period in Wadi Tanezzuft (di Lernia, Manzi and Merighi 2002: 290). The dating is not certain, due to the absence of diagnostic cultural material, but its location would sug-gest a date similar to T661 and T662 (possibly Mature or Classical Garamantian), both structures where children were buried.

FW T1210 was part of the group of cairns located at the SW fringes of the necropolis, few tens of meters from both T1191 and T1997. It was built on a flat sandy ground, close to the foot of the sandstone plateau. It was round in shape, with a maximum diameter measur-ing 4.5 m and a maximum height of 1 m (Fig. 16.63). The skeleton lay inside a shallow burial pit (12 cm deep), encircled by an oval lithic cist, measuring 1.5 m SW-NE and 87 cm NE-SW. Its state of preserva-tion was fair and no signs of plundering were visible. The structure was excavated keeping a N-S section (A-A’) along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Seven stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.64). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. pebbles and cobbles from 1 cm up to 15-25 cm long, varnished on the outer surface of the structure, in a slightly cemented sand; 2. sandstone slabs, up to 50 cm ca. in length, concentrically set around the lithic cist to form a sort of platform, which was the base of the tumulus; 3. three sandstone slabs, (average dimension 70 x 48 x 15 cm) covering the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist composed of nine prismatic sandstone blocks, ranging from a maximum dimension of 68 x 30 x 18 cm to a minimum of 34 x 25 x 15 cm), around a shallow burial pit; 5. yellow loose sand filling the lithic cist and containing the skeleton; 6. coarse reddish sand, 2 to 5 cm thick, under the skeleton; 7. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult female (H1), 30-35 years old, was found inside the lithic cist (Fig. 16.65). The body was tightly contracted on her left side, S/W-N/E oriented, with the skull lying at S/W and facing N. The skeleton showed a bad state of preservation, even though it was moderately represented in its anatomical districts. The cortical portion of the bones appeared completely flaky and exfoliated (the bones had a gypsum-like consistence), a situation




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similar to those of T710H1 and T716H1. The cranium and the mandi-ble were strongly damaged, the teeth not preserved. The thoracic area showed a bad state of preservation and the limb bones were also fractured. The arms were bent in front of the thorax, with the hands near the face. The legs were contracted and the feet were close to each other and located near the pelvis.Some very small remains of leather were found close to the legs and pelvic area, possibly from a shroud or the woman’s leather skirt.The artefacts and chronological attributionApart from few tiny fragments of leather, no artefacts were found inside the structure, on the top or around it. An AMS radiocarbon dating on bone collagen set its age to 1900±25 uncal. years BP, which would suggest a Classic Garamantian attribution to the grave. But a further check on the same sample’s collagen gave a different result: 2320±25 uncal. years BP which, in this case, would date the tumulus to the beginning of the Mature Garamantian phase. The geograph-ic location and type of the tumulus supports the latter date, but without any cultural material the question remains open.

FW T1226 was located at the SW fringes of Fewet necropolis, on flat sandy ground at the foot of the plateau. It was a round tumulus, with a diameter of 4.9 m and a maximum height of 1.1 m (Fig. 16.66). Its state of preservation was good, and its building sequence was similar to the previous one: the body was laid inside a very shallow round pit, 87 cm in diameter, and then surrounded by a lithic cist. The cist was encircled by a perimeter wall and the structure filled with larger slabs and finally topped by smaller cobbles. The struc-ture was excavated with NW-SE section (A-A’) set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Seven stratigraphic layers have been recorded (Fig. 16.67). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. pebbles and cobbles (from 1 cm up to 15-25 cm long) in slightly cemented sand; prismatic elements were largely predominant and most of the cobbles were varnished on the outer surface; 2. sandstone slabs, up to 40 cm ca. in length, concentrically set around the lithic cist to form a sort of platform, which is the base of the tumulus; 3. one long sandstone slabs (103 x 35 x 20 cm) covering the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist composed of 5 huge sandstone blocks ranging in dimension from a maximum of 85 x 37 x 20 cm to a minimum of 70 x 36 x 20 cm; 5. yellow, loose sand filling the lithic cist and containing the skeleton; 6. few cm thick coarse and reddish soil at the bottom of the burial pit; 7. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult male (H1), 40-45 years old, was found in-side the lithic cist (Fig. 16.68). The body lay tightly contracted on the left side, E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing S.



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showed a poor state of preservation, the limb bones were frac-tured (above all those of the upper limbs). The arms were bent in front of the thorax and the legs tightly contracted, with the feet close to each other and located under the pelvis.Some remains of red leather were found on the right femur.The artefacts and chronological attributionAs in the previous structure, apart from small leather fragments, no cultural material was found inside or outside the grave. An AMS carbon dating from bone collagen resulted in an uncalibrated dating of 2290±40 years BP, indicating a Mature Garamantian ho-rizon for the grave. Strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel was obtained from the preserved teeth and the resulting value differs from similar structures in the same area, which are generally com-parable to the ratio of the faunal remains from the excavated com-pound. In this case the place where the buried individual grew up was apparently different (see Chapter 18).

FW T1261 was located at the SW fringes of the necropolis, almost at the border of the cemetery. It was a round grave with a small semi-circular annex (Fig. 16.69). It showed a good state of preservation, the maximum diameter of the main cairn was 2.8 m, the total length with annex 3.74 m. Its building sequence was rather similar to the type 2 tombs, but the skeletal remains lay directly on the bedrock in both main cairn and annex. The main tumulus was composed of two rows of prismatic sandstone blocks, covered by similar stones

The individual showed a bad state of preservation and anatomical incompleteness. The cortical surface of the bones was completely exfoliated, like those of T710H1, T716H1 and T1210H1. Many anatomi-cal districts were not preserved, above all those of the left side of the body, lying on the sediment. The cranium and the mandible were strongly damaged, the teeth not preserved. The thoracic area



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skull lying at S/W and facing N-N/W. The skeleton showed a very good state of preservation and completeness. The cranium and the face were complete. The mandible was preserved but had lost the articulation with the cranial base and appeared open (the cra-nium had fallen backwards). Some teeth were preserved (anterior teeth of the mandible and left third molar of the maxilla), while all the others were lost during life (the alveoli appeared completed reabsorbed). The thoracic area was preserved (but for the scapulae, slightly damaged). The arms were bent in front of the thorax, with the hands in front of the face. The legs were tightly contracted and close to the chest (probably tied) and the feet close to each other and to the pelvis. Abundant remains of a leather shroud were found above all the skeleton. All the elements of the left side of the skel-eton (lying on the terrace) were covered of a concretion of sand and salt.T1261(H2) was a child of about 0-6 months of age, of indetermi-nate sex, buried inside the external annex. The body was tightly contracted on the right side, E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing N. The orientation of the body would suggest that the individual was a male. The skeleton showed a moderate state of preservation and completeness. The cranium was complete, though fractured particularly in the facial region. The mandible was articulated with the cranial base and fragmented. The thoracic area was badly preserved. The arms were presumably bent on the thorax and the legs contracted.

and finally topped with a layer of smaller cobbles. The semi-circular annex measured 150 cm N-S and 120 cm E-W and rested on the S side of the main structure. Eight pottery fragments, rather small and not diagnostic, were found few meters to the S of the structure.The structure was totally excavated and a N-S section (A-A’) was set along its centre. The stratigraphic sequence Eight stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.70). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. varnished cobbles, up to 30 cm in length, covering the upper surface of the structure. Ten pottery fragments were found scattered on the surface; 2. four big slabs, from 60 to 80 cm in length, covering the lithic cist; 3. lithic cist, measuring 90 cm NS x 83 cm EW, composed of 6 big sandstone blocks (50-60 x 30-40 x 15-18 cm) encircling the body; 4. loose yel-low sand filling the burial cist. A turquoise glass bead was min-gled in the sand; 5. two sandstone slabs covering the annex lithic cist; 6. annex lithic cist; 7. loose yellow sand filing the annex cist; 8. bedrock.The burialsThe tumulus contained a double burial: an adult female (H1) was buried inside the main cairn while a very young child (H2) was found inside the external annex. Like T1197, in this case a parental relation might be assumed.T1261 (H1) was an adult female, 35-40 years old (Fig. 16.71). The body was tightly contracted on the left side, S/W-N/E oriented, with the

Fig. 16.71 – Tumulus FW T1261, drawing of H1 (left) and H2 (right). The grey area around H1 indicates the remains of a leather shroud.

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A single glass bead was found inside the lithic cist, mingled in the sandy filling. X-ray microanalysis identified it as a natron type glass. The blue colour was produced by adding cobalt and oxidized cop-per as colouring elements (see Chapter 12 bead F3). An AMS ra-diocarbon dating performed on H1 bone collagen set its age at 2160±40 uncal. years BP, which is consistent with the archaeologi-cal context and material.

Type 2 crater cairn

FW T719 was located in the necropolis central area, on top of the sandstone plateau, in a flat high area where large and well-built drum-shaped tumuli were clustered (among them T710, 712, 715 and 716 which were excavated). It was a conical structure with a reinforcement wall and a circular crater on its top, a type which is generally referred to as crater cairn, attested at the Kokaman cemetery in the oasis of Ghat (Pace et al. 1951) and inserted in the Wadi el-Ajal typology (Mattingly 2003: 198) (Fig. 16.72). Crater cairns are sometimes difficult to distinguished from conical tumuli where robbing activity has created a hole in the central area of the structure (which is often the case because robbing activity usually searched for lithic cists and burials). However, in this case the crater was a structural feature that may have been related to some kind of libation ritual. The perimeter wall was composed of three rows of sandstone blocks. The upper surface of the structure was formed by a heap of small cobbles (5-10 cm) forming a conical cap on the top of a

The artefacts and chronological attributionA total of ten pottery sherds were found on top of the structures and pertain to two relatively small bowls. The fragments were rather tiny and were not refitting. Shape, paste and surface treat-ment find parallels in the excavated compound and suggest a Mature Garamantian date, which is also confirmed by radio car-bon dating.



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central area even of a much later (Classical and Late Garamantian) date (see Chapter 18).

16.3.3. Type 3

Drum-shaped tombs, unlike conical cairns, are attested in the Fez-zan region from the Garamantian period, and represent a distinct chronological indicator as their use is restricted to the Garamantian times (see Chapter 15; from the Wadi el-Ajal, Mattingly 2003: 217-219 and 2007). Their statistically significant percentage (approximately 25%) of presence at Fewet added important data on the develop-ment of funerary practices in the area. Seven tombs with the well distinct cylindrical shape were selected for excavation (T669, T710, T712, T715, T716, T914, T976). They were all located in the central and eastern area of the necropolis where the majority and the largest type 3 tombs were erected (see Chapter 15 Fig. 15.30) (Fig. 16.75). As noted in Chapter 15, drum tumuli had a more complex architecture than the conical ones, the former requiring a selection of stones in size and shape for each different phase of the building sequence

cylindrical platform. A crater (50 cm wide in diameter) was present at the centre of the conical heap. The lithic cist was located at the centre of the cairn, composed of 9 stone blocks (from 60 x 30 cm to 40 x 20 cm in size), and covered by one big slab (87 x 62 cm ca.). Inside the lithic cist the buried body lay in a shallow burial pit (75 cm EW x 67 cm NS, 16 cm deep) slightly carved in the bedrock. The state of preservation of the tumulus was fair, its maximum diam-eter was 3 m and its maximum height was 90 cm. A fragment of a Tripolitanian amphora handle was found outside the perimeter wall, 1 m ca. to the N of the structure.The tumulus was totally excavated and an E-W section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequenceSix stratigraphic layers have been recorded (Fig. 16.73). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small cobbles both prismatic and rounded in shape in very loose sand; 2. one big slab covering the lithic cist; 3. lithic cist; 4. loose yellow sand filling the lithic cist; 5. perimeter wall; 6. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adolescent (H1), 13-15 years old, was found in-side the stone cist (Fig. 16.74). The body was contracted in a supine-like position (dorsal decubitus), E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing N/W. The body orientation would suggest that the individual was a male. The skeleton showed a very good state of preservation and was complete. The cranium and the mandible, perfectly preserved, had fallen towards the thorax; the mandible maintained the articulation with the cranial base. All the teeth (until the M2) were recovered, the anterior ones only partially fractured. The left arm was bent on the thorax, with the left hand lied on the right thorax; the right arm was extended along the thorax with the right hand located above the pelvis; the legs were contracted at the sides of the vertebral column, with femurs and tibiae tightly close to each other (probably tied); the feet were located near the pelvis.The body was probably buried in a leather shroud as seems indi-cated by the traces of leather found near the neck and the skull and under the legs.The artefacts and chronological attributionApart from the fragment of a Tripolitanian amphora handle, which was found isolated on the outside of the structure, no grave goods were found inside the grave.A sample of bone collagen from H1 was radiocarbon dated to 2360±70 uncal. years BP, which would attribute the burial to the Formative Garamantian period (4th cent. BC OxCal calibration). A strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel was obtained, and the resulting value clustered with the other tumuli of the necropolis

Fig. 16.74 – Tumulus FW T719, drawing of H1. The remains of a leather shroud are drawn in grey.

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sandstone blocks (30-50 cm long) arranged in few rows (most often from 4 to 6) was then built at an average distance of approximately 1.5 m from the cist. The inner space was subsequently filled with blocks and cobbles mingled in sand, up to the top of the wall till the structure had a flat topped cylindrical shape. Finally, the surface was smoothed by a homogeneous layer of small cobbles (Fig. 16.76). Several features were then added to the main cairn, and such ap-parently reflected a higher complexity of the burial rites than in type 1 and 2 tumuli. Body orientation was marked by one or more standing stones simply vertically placed either on the E or W side of the cairn (up to seven slabs were identified in excavated struc-tures), rudimental offering tables (in the shape of the so called ‘milking stools’) were often placed approximately 1 m further to the E or W, and/or stone alignments composed of one or even two parallel lines of small heaps of stone were sometimes added.

Type 3a

FW T669 was located in the necropolis central area, 1100 m ap-proximately to the E of the excavated compound, on the slope of the sandstone plateau. It was composed of a main cairn, round in plan, with a small semi-circular annex resting on its S side, which had already been plundered and emptied (Fig. 16.77). It measured 5.4 m in maximum length, 3.8 m in diameter of the main structure and 0.7 m in height. Its inner structure resembled that of type 3b tumuli apart from the surface refinement, which was less uniform and composed both of larger blocks and smaller cobbles. The main grave showed a fair state of preservation: only the NE face was ap-parently disturbed. Fourteen pottery sherds were found scattered in the area around the annex. They may have been thrown away during the plundering as other 7 fragments, some of which pro-bably pertaining to the same pot, were found mingled in the loose sand filling the structure. As the main burial was an adult female, this annex could have originally hosted an infant individual.The structure was excavated in its central area setting a 2 x 2 m square and a NW-SE section (A-A’) along its centre.The stratigraphic sequenceNine stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.78). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small tabular cobbles (5-10 cm in length) and medium sized blocks (20-40 in length cm ca.) mostly varnished on the upper surface, included in fine sand. Sixteen tiny pottery frag-ments were scattered on the tumulus surface; 2. large sandstone slabs, concentrically laid to build the main structure of the tumulus. This layer contained 6 fragments of pottery, five small undecorated body sherds and one with roulette impressions; 3. three long slabs

and a longer construction time. Moreover, the cairn outer space was often articulated with several features related to the funerary rites, which were typical of drum-shaped structures and appar-ently absent in types 1 and 2.The drum-shaped tomb building sequence was substantially simi-lar in all the cairns excavated: the contracted corpse was laid ei-ther directly on the bedrock or in a very shallow burial pit (15 cm in average depth). A round or oval lithic cist built with medium/large sized sandstone blocks (from 40 to 80-90 cm long), often in two rows, was placed around it and covered by one or more sand-stone slabs. A circular perimeter wall, composed of medium sized

Fig. 16.75 – Distribution map of excavated Type 3 tumuli.

Fig. 16.76 – Tumulus FW T715 building sequence.


parallel lines E-W oriented was still visible under the skeleton. The contracted position with the corpse completely wrapped in a leather shroud, and the presence of a straw matting lining the base of the grave were common features reported from some of the cemeteries excavated in Wadi el-Ajal, and particularly common in UAT 800, dated to the early centuries AD (Mattingly et al. 2007: 30). In the Fewet cemetery straw mats were found at the bottom of the burial pit also in T710 and T712.

(from 50 to 70 cm long) covering the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist composed of 6 large sandstone blocks, ranging from 72 x 22 x 25 cm to 45 x 18 x 20 cm, encircling a shallow round burial pit, measuring 97 cm in diameter and 12 cm deep; 5. loose yellow sand filling the lithic cist; 6. external wall of the main structure, built with seven to five rows of parallelepiped sandstone blocks, with an average dimension of 25-30 cm long and 15-18 cm thick; 7. annex outer wall, built with two rows of sandstone blocks, larger at the base (from 50 to 90 cm long and 20-25 cm thick) and smaller on top (30-40 cm long and 15-20 cm thick); 8. loose eolian sand filling the annex. Seven pottery fragments were found mingled in the sand; 9. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult female (H1), 20-25 years old, was found in-side the stone cist (Fig. 16.79A-B). The body was tightly contracted on the left side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and facing E. The skeleton was very well preserved and complete. The skull was complete and the mandible perfectly articulated with the cranial base. The teeth, above all the maxillary ones, were partially dam-aged; the state of preservation of the mandibular teeth was bet-ter, above all the posterior ones: both the lower first molars were lost during life and the alveoli completed reabsorbed. The state of preservation of the thoracic area was fair. The arms were crossed upon the thorax with the hands located near the sternum; the legs were strongly contracted and the feet, close to each other, were located under the pelvis. The strongly contracted position and the unnatural/forced curva-ture of the cervical column suggested, also in this case, that the corpse was wrapped in a leather shroud, and this is confirmed by the abundant remains of leather found all over the skeleton (Fig. 16.79B). The wrapped body lay on a straw mat that completely co-vered the bottom of the burial pit; an imprinted pattern of thin


Fig. 16.77 – Plan of FW T669.

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to the 7th-6th cent. BC, the Formative Garamantian phase (see Table 16.II). This would be the earliest date for a Garamantian tumulus from the excavated structures at Fewet but a check dating also on the collagen extracted from H1 bones gave a different and more plausible result: 2220±45 uncal. years BP (cal. 391-184 BC, Oxcal 95.4% probability). Both dates raise the question of the introduc-tion of type 3 tumuli in the area. The general reconstruction from the survey and ceramics analyses would, in fact, suggest a later introduction of in the Classical Garamantian phase, because of its frequent association with imported and Classical/Late Garaman-tian pottery. The chronological attribution of this tumulus, poses the question regarding the reliability of radiocarbon determina-tions on organic matter such as bones and other ‘open system’ substances (see di Lernia and Manzi 1998: 225; Cherkinsky 2009). A strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel was obtained from the preserved teeth (see Chapter 18), and the resulting value indicated a similarity with the other tumuli of the necropolis central area.

Type 3b (T710, T712, T715, T716, T914, T976)

FW T710 was a rather well preserved, well-built drum-shaped struc-ture, with no signs of robbing activity and an even black varnish on the upper surface (Fig. 16.81). Its maximum diameter was 4.50 m and its maximum height 70 cm. Five rows of prismatic stones formed the perimeter wall of the structure, which was filled with sandstone blocks and covered and levelled with smaller cobbles on the sur-

The artefacts and chronological attributionTwenty pottery fragments were collected from the main cairn and 21 apparently pertained to the S annex. The pieces were generally very small and did not refit into a complete vessel. The majority seemed undecorated (the outer surface of all sherds was badly eroded) but five fragments showed the same roulette decoration (Fig. 16.80). They might belong to the same vessel, but interestingly they were found in all four layers with pottery: 3 from layer 1; 1 from layer 2; 1 from layer 8 and 1 from the surface around the annex. This might suggest a ritual breakage of a vessel, scattered both inside the main tumulus and the annex and also on top of both struc-tures. If this was the case, it would also suggest their contempo-rary building and presumably burial. The only pottery shape which could be identified was that of a small jar, which has parallels in the excavated compound assemblage. A date stone was found in the sandy filling of the main lithic cist. A first AMS radiocarbon dating on bone collagen set its age to 2530±40 uncal. years BP which would result in a calibrated date

Fig. 16.80 – Ceramics from FW T669.

Fig. 16.79 – Tumulus FW T669, photo (A) and drawing (B) of H1. The grey area indicates the remains of a leather shroud.

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the lithic cist which was closed by five sandstone slabs (70 x 40 x 15 cm in average size). After the cist had been covered, the outer pe-rimeter wall was built around the central cist lying in the centre. This inner area was then filled with medium sized prismatic stones, and finally roofed by small rounded cobbles. The three standing stones and the offering table were then located on the outside of the cairn.The structure was excavated only in its central area, in a 2 x 2 m square area, and a SW-NE section (A-A’) was set along its centre. The stratigraphic sequenceEleven stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.82). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small rounded cobbles used to level the surface of the tumulus; 2. medium sized prismatic stones filling

face. One standing slab (80 x 57 x 10 cm ca.) was located on the E side of the tumulus and a second fallen slab (85 x 56 x 9 cm ca.) lay on the same side. A third slab was also present on the ground, 45 cm S from a rudimental offering table (85 x 54 x 11 cm ca.). A scatter of pottery was found all around the standing slabs. The rudimental offering table (located 108 cm E of the standing stone) was formed by three sandstone blocks with a slab on top. Close to the offering table a bronze bead was collected (FW T710 R1; see Fig. 16.85). The building sequence was reconstructed as follows: an oval shal-low burial pit, measuring 113 cm EW x 64 cm NS and 23 cm deep, was dug into the bedrock to host the body. It was then surrounded by thirteen sandstone blocks (50 x 30 x 25 cm in average size) forming

Fig. 16.81 – Plan of FW T710. The dashed area indicates the pottery sherds and the black dot is the finding place of a bronze bead.


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of preservation was very bad, though all the anatomical districts were represented. The bones were extremely damaged and the cortical surface appeared ‘exfoliated’. The skull was fragmented, particularly in the frontal and facial regions; the mandible was dis-articulated and fragmented. The teeth were damaged, and some of them (surely P3-M3 of the right mandible, but probably also the other mandibular ones) were lost during life and the alveoli com-pletely reabsorbed. The anatomical elements were significantly disturbed in the thoracic area. The arms were bent on the thorax, with the left hand under the skull and the right one in front of the face. The legs were contracted and close to the thorax, with the feet close to each other, and located under the pelvis.The impression of a rectangular straw mat (88 cm NS x 72 cm EW) was found at the bottom of the burial pit, on the reddish soil which covered the bedrock, and it appeared as a set of thin parallel lines all EW oriented (Fig. 16.84). The artefacts and chronological attributionNo cultural material was found inside the excavated structure. All pottery fragments were located outside, in the area around the standing stones and the offering table on the eastern side of the cairn. Twenty-four small sherds, maybe pertaining to a single jar with roulette impressions, were scattered around the standing stones, to-gether with a nice fragment of a Roman Sigillata bowl to be dated to the first centuries AD. Moreover, 150 cm N of the northern side of the tumulus, close to a small sandstone outcrop, the remains of a jar with incised decoration were found (FW T710 R2, Fig. 16.86).A bronze bead was found close to the rudimental offering table (shaped like a so-called milking stool). This is the only metal object found in the excavated structures, but another bronze item was found on top of tumulus T446, a 3b structure located in the ne-cropolis central area. All the artefacts point to a Late Garamantian date of the tumulus. The sixteen date stones inside the lithic cist were probably the re-mains of a food offering.

the perimeter wall and covering the lithic cist; 3. sandstone slabs covering the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist at the centre of the structure; 5. loose, yellow sand filling the lithic cist and covering the buried corpse. This sediment was 10 cm thick and sloped from E to W. Six-teen date stones were found in the W half of the burial pit; 6. hard-er sandy sediment showing lamination lines due to windblown deposition; 7. coarse and reddish silty-sandy soil few cm thick over the bedrock; 8. perimeter wall; 9. standing stone; 10. rudimental of-fering table; 11. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult male (H1), 30-40 years old, was found in the depositional pit. It lay tightly contracted on the left side, E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and facing S (Fig. 16.83). The state

Fig. 16.83 – Tumulus FW T710, drawing of H1. The light grey area indicates the mat im-pressions under the skeleton.

Fig. 16.84 – Straw matting lining the bottom of FW T710 lithic cist. Fig. 16.85 – Bronze bead from FW T710.

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FW T712 was a well-built drum-shaped structure which showed a rather good state of preservation in its inner area and some stone collapses on the W side (Fig. 16.87). Its maximum diameter was 4.40 m and its maximum height 79 cm. The tumulus perimeter wall was composed of 4-6 rows of medium sized sandstone blocks. Its inner surface was covered and levelled by small cobbles. At the centre of the structure an oval stone cist was present. It was covered by stone slabs and composed of two rows of prismatic stones: the dimension of the inner space of the cist was 1 m x 77 cm and 60 cm deep. A shallow burial pit was carved in the bedrock in order to level the depositional ground. One big slab was mingled in the collapse of the W side of the perimeter wall, and it was possibly a standing stone; on the same side, 61 cm from the tumulus wall, the remains of a rudimental ‘offering table’ were also present with ceramic fragments scattered around the same area. The structure was excavated setting a 2 x 2 m square and an E-W section (A-A’) along its centre. Fig. 16.86 – A small jar with incised and impressed decoration from FW T710.

Fig. 16.87 – Plan of FW T712. The dashed area indicates the finding place of pottery sherds.

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The stratigraphic sequenceTen stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.88). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small rounded cobbles; 2. medium sized prismatic stones filling the perimeter wall and covering the lithic cist; 3. sandstone slabs covering the lithic cist. Three main huge slabs (average dimension 90 x 60 x 18 cm) were placed with several smaller blocks; 4. oval lithic cist composed of two rows of prismatic stones, at the centre of the structure; 5. loose yellow sand filling the lithic cist. Fragments of date stones, two beads and frag-ment of leather were found mingled in the sand, together with some teeth and the remains of the fur and nest of a small rodent; 6. more compact, yellow-pink sand; 7. coarse reddish sand with gravel; 8. perimeter wall; 9. rudimental offering table; 10. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult female (H1), 35-40 years old, was found in-side the lithic cist. The corpse was tightly contracted on the right side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W and facing S (Fig. 16.89). The state of preservation of the bones was moderate but the skel-eton appeared almost complete. The cranium was intact, but the facial region was strongly damaged and the mandible fragmented (only the left portion was preserved). The teeth were not found: all the alveoli of the left side of the mandible appeared reabsorbed (hence the teeth were all lost during life). The thoracic area was poorly preserved. The arms were bent on the thorax, with the right hand under the skull and the left hand in front of the face. The legs were contracted and close to the thorax; the feet close to each other. Some of the ribs were dislocated from the original position

Fig. 16.89 – Tumulus FW T712, drawing of H1. Mat impressions are indicated by the light grey area.


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were collected and the shapes of six jars, some relatively small, and one bowl have been reconstructed (Fig. 16.91). Roulette impressions decorated some of the sherds and a small handle was also found. The finding of a handle, not represented in the compound context while common in the Aghram Nadharif assemblage (Gatto 2005; 2010), suggests a Late Garamantian date for the burial.

and in the thoracic/lumbar area the vertebral column showed an unnatural curvature: both these features were probably due to a post-depositional disturbance of the burial by some micro-mam-mals (as proved by the presence of a rodent nest near the thoracic vertebrae).The red colour of the human bones stained with red ochre was noteworthy. At Fewet this is the only example among the ex-cavated structures, but the importance of the colour red in the Garamantian culture, particularly in funerary practices, has been frequently reported, and red bones were found in graves dated to the Garamantian period in Wadi el-Ajal (see Mattingly 2003: 227 for a general discussion).The artefacts and chronological attributionImpressions of a rectangular straw mat measuring 120 x 70 cm ca. were found under the skeleton on substratum soil covering the bedrock. A small piece of fabric, made of interwoven threads of vegetal fibres, 1-2 mm in diameter, was found close to the skull (Fig. 16.90). Inside the stone cist, two beads were found mingled in the loose sandy deposit but they were not in their original posi-tion and may have been displaced by rodent activity. One was an ostrich eggshell bead and the second was an aquamarine faience bead. X-ray microanalysis of the latter revealed that copper had been used as a colouring element (see Chapter 12 bead F7). Twenty date stones fragments were collected from the same sandy filling inside the cist and were probably remains of a food offering. Pottery was found only outside the cairn, in the area close to the ru-dimental offering table. A total of seventy-three pottery fragments

Fig. 16.90 – Fragments of textiles from FW T712.

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sized sandstone blocks (30 x 20 x 15 cm ca.) piled up in five rows. The inner surface was covered with small cobbles (smaller than 5 cm) and few larger blocks scattered among the cobbles. More or less at the centre of the structure an E-W oriented stone cist was present. It was formed by 15 sandstone blocks and closed by 5 big slabs (aver-age dimension 90 x 40 x 12 cm). The burial, inside the stone cist, lay in a shallow pit, 25 cm deep, carved into the bedrock.In the external W area of the structure, near the perimeter wall, four sandstone slabs lay on the ground, two probably fallen stand-ing stones (76 x 31 x 12 cm; 82 x 17 x 10 cm), and other two slightly detached from the perimeter of the tumulus (64 x 33 x 15 cm and 73 x 37 x13 cm). On the same side, 1 m W of the tumulus wall, a rudimental offering table composed of three prismatic sandstone blocks surmounted by a sandstone slab was found. Some sherds were scattered around the standing stones.The structure was totally excavated and an E-W section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequenceSeven stratigraphic units have been recorded (Fig. 16.93). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small cobbles used to cover and lev-el the surface of the structure; 2. larger prismatic blocks mixed with smaller stones, filling the tumulus. The perimeter wall enclosed this filling but it was not bond with it. Interstices were present be-tween both layer 1 and 2 and the wall were filled with windblown sand; 3. five long slabs covering the stone cist; 4. stone cist at the centre of the structure; 5. loose yellow sand filling the stone cist; 6. coarse reddish sand at the bottom of the stone cist; 7. bedrock.

FW T715 was also a well-built drum-shaped structure, oval in plan with a similar building sequence to the previous ones (Fig. 16.92). Its surface was totally varnished with black patina and showed no sign of robbing activity. Its maximum diameter was 4.67 m and its maxi-mum height 80 cm. The perimeter wall was composed of medium

Fig. 16.92 – Plan of FW T715. The dashed area is the finding place of pottery sherds.


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The burialThe skeleton of an adult female (H1), 20-25 years old, was found inside the stone cist (Fig. 16.94). The corpse was slightly contracted on the right side, S/W-N/E oriented, with the skull lying at S/W and facing S. The skeleton showed a very good state of preservation and appeared complete; it maintained a perfect anatomical con-nection, except for the thoracic region that displayed the disloca-tion of some elements (ribs and sternum): this was simply due to the formation of the intra-thoracic void after the deposition of the corpse and the deteriorating of the muscle and ligament tissues, and the following collapse of the left thorax. The cranium and face were complete, the mandible articulated with the cranial base. Many teeth were fragmented (but for the maxillary central inci-sors, the two third molars and the left second molar, which were integral), while the mandibular molars of both sides were lost dur-ing life (alveoli completely reabsorbed), despite the young age of the individual. The arms were bent in front of the thorax, with el-ements of the hands located partially near the face and partially under the mandible. The legs were contracted (forming an angle >90° with the vertebral column), and the feet close to each other and located under the pelvis. The artefacts and chronological attributionInside the stone cist a bracelet was found composed of 76 beads of different material: 54 ostrich eggshell beads, 14 carnelian beads of different sizes (cylindrical, biconical and discoidal), two amazonite beads and one serpentine, three chalcedony, two opal beads and two of an undetermined stone. Half of the bracelet was still in its original connection with remains of a thin leather rope inside the beads hole (Fig. 16.95), which allow a reliable reconstruction of the original bead disposition (see Chapter 10). This was the only complete bracelet found in the excavated structures and the one with the highest number of stone beads from the cemetery. Stone beads were analysed both in their petrographic composition (see Chapter 11) and in a techno-functional perspective (see Chapter 10), and the results showed wear traces due to a prolonged sus-pension. The bracelet was a personal belonging of the buried indi-vidual, rather precious if compared to similar findings in the Fewet necropolis, and thus used as grave good. Remains of leather were particularly abundant above the pelvic area and legs, but were absent in the upper part of the skeleton. They could either be remains of a leather shroud or of a kind of leather skirt. Some small leather pieces showed straight lines of holes, evidence of stitching but no sewing thread was preserved. Remains of leather and a small fragment of a leather rope (Fig. 16.96) were also found under the skull, maybe remains of a pillow

Fig. 16.94 – Tumulus FW T715, drawing of H1. The arrow indicates the area where the bracelet was found.

Fig. 16.95 – Bracelet found on FW T715 H1 wrist, during the excavation.

Fig. 16.96 – Leather rope, probably part of a leather pillow under FW T715 H1 head.

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FW T716 was a drum-shaped structure with a stone alignment lo-cated on its E side and reaching 12 m in length (Fig. 16.97). The state of preservation of the tumulus was rather good. Its maximum di-ameter was 4.95 m and its maximum height 75 cm. The perimeter wall of the tumulus was composed of 5-6 rows of sandstone blocks and filled with medium sized stones (maximum length 30-50 cm), levelled on the surface by a layer of smaller cobbles. The stone cist hosting the burial was located approximately at the centre of the structure. It was oval in shape (80 x 100 cm), composed of nine large prismatic sandstones (approximately 30-50 cm in length) and covered by three big slabs (70 x 50 x 12 – 120 x 50 x 15 cm). The skel-eton lay within the cist, in a 15 cm deep pit carved mainly to level the bedrock.Three slabs were found on the ground (probably originally stand-ing stones) on the E side of the structure outside the perimeter

under the head (a leather pillow was found in 96/129 T3 close to H1 head – di Lernia and Manzi 2002: 140; 159 Fig. 16.6.1). Fourteen small fragments of pottery were found outside the tu-mulus, in the area surrounding the rudimental offering table. They were all undecorated walls with badly eroded surface, with the ex-ception of a tiny rim fragment of a small bowl.An AMS radiocarbon dating on bone collagen set its age to 1962±40 BP uncal. years BP, suggesting a Classic Garamantian ho-rizon for the structure, which matches the archaeological context. Isotopic analysis was also carried out on the preserved teeth. Strontium isotope ratio determined on dental enamel showed val-ues comparable to those of other structures (mostly of the 3 type) located in the central area of the necropolis, and different to a sec-ond cluster of values which seems more related to the excavated compound, from faunal comparison (see Chapter 18).

Fig. 16.97 – Plan of FW T716. The dashed area indicates the finding place of pottery sherds.

Fig. 16.98 – Stratigraphic sequence of FW T716. The stelae and stones forming the “offering table” are projected on the background.

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wall. They were located in front of a rudimental offering table, 1.10 m from the tumulus E wall, and a stone alignment, W-E oriented, composed of eight heaps, each formed of three medium sized stones, was located from 50 to 70 cm apart. In the surface around the offering table ceramic fragments were scattered. The structure was totally excavated and an E-W section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequenceEight stratigraphic layers have been recorded (Fig. 16.98). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. small cobbles varnished on the up-per surface; 2. bigger prismatic stones with some slabs; 3. Three slabs covering the stone cist; 4. stone cist at the centre of the tu-mulus; 5. loose sand filling the stone cist and including the skele-ton; 6. compact sand; 7. coarse reddish sandy-silty soil; 8. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult male (H1), 20-30 years old, was found in-side the stone cist (Fig. 16.99). The body was tightly contracted on the left side, E-W oriented, with the skull lying at E and fac-ing S. The skeleton showed a very bad state of preservation even though the principal anatomical districts were represented. The cortical portion of the bones was completely flaked and the re-maining part was totally coated to the rigid sediment. The skull and mandible were extremely damaged, the teeth completely fractured. The arms were bent on the thorax, with the right hand under the skull and the left hand in front of the face. The legs were contracted, with the feet close to each other and located under the pelvis.The artefacts and chronological attributionNo grave goods were found inside the structure but 93 sherds, mostly small body pieces, were collected on the surface on the E side of the tumulus. Among the many sherds found, the major-ity had no decoration and were not diagnostic. Few fragments showed a decorative pattern, which included both roulette im-pression and incision, and dated to the Late Garamantian phase (Fig. 16.100). The shape of three jars, one of which with rim top decoration that possibly goes together with the Late Garaman-tian decorated sherds, and one bowl were identified. The ceramic chronology is consistent with a radiocarbon dating on bone col-lagen which set its age to 1740±25 years uncal. BP. An attempt to date bio-apatite was also made, giving a slightly different result (1840±25 years uncal. BP), but always indicating a Classical to Late Garamantian chronological attribution. Strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel was obtained from the preserved teeth (see Chapter 18), and the resulting value indicated a similarity with the other tumuli of the necropolis central area. Fig. 16.100 – Ceramics from FW T716.

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piled up in four-five rows. The inner surface was levelled with small rounded cobbles (5 cm ca. in length), varnished on the upper surface and larger blocks mingled in a loose sandy ma-trix formed the inner filling of the tumulus. At the centre of the structure a SE-NW oriented oval lithic cist contained the buried individual that was laid on the bedrock. It was erected using nine huge sandstone blocks (60 x 50 x 15 cm in average dimension) and closed on top by four slabs ranging in dimension from 112 x 30 x 20 cm to 68 x 46 x 19 cm.

FW T914 was located on the eastern part of the necropolis, 350 m to the E from the area of the previous 3b structures and 1500 m approximately to the E of the excavated compound. The gen-eral structure and building sequence of this drum-shaped cairn was similar to the previous ones as was the presence of exter-nal features related to the funerary practices (Fig. 16.101). Its state of preservation was rather good; its maximum diameter was 5.1 m and its maximum height 0.7 m. The perimeter wall was com-posed of medium sized sandstone blocks (30 x 20 x 12 cm ca.)

Fig. 16.101 – Plan of FW T914. Both dashed and grey areas indicate the finding places of pottery sherds.

Fig. 16.102 – Stratigraphic sequence of T914. The stelae and stones forming the “offering table“ are projected on the background.

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shape of the complete object. Well preserved headrests were found in the Garamantian burials of the Wadi el-Ajal (i.e. tomb ZIN 218 T1, dated to the Classic Garamantian phase, Mattingly et al. 2007: 24; for other references see Mattingly 2003: 226 ; 2010: 354-356 for different types of headrests found in burials dated to the 2nd-1st cent. BC) and also in some late antique tombs in the SE oases of Tejeri (Bellair et al. 1953: 79).

Three fallen sandstone slabs lying on the ground on the W side of the tumulus were probably standing stones (average dimension 40 x 50 x 15 cm). Three small prismatic blocks located 1.30 m to the W side of the structure were disposed similarly to the rudi-mental ‘offering tables’ but had no top slab. Fragments of pottery were found scattered in this area and also in a spot on top of the tumulus.The structure was excavated in a 2 x 2 m square trench and a SE-NW section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Ten stratigraphic units have been identified (Fig. 16.102). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. prismatic cobbles and tabular peb-bles varnished on the upper surface. Some fragments of pottery (undecorated walls and one rim) were found in this layer; 2. larger slabs (up to 60 cm in length) in a loose sandy matrix; 3. four slabs covering the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist composed of nine sandstone blocks; 5. yellow, loose sand filling the lithic cist and covering the skeleton; 6. coarse reddish soil substratum, few centimetres thick, on the bedrock; 7. perimeter wall of the tumulus; 8. fallen stand-ing stones; 9. remains of a probable rudimental ‘offering table’; 10. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of a young female (H1), 15-20 years old, was found inside the lithic cist (Fig. 16.103). The body was contracted on the right side, W-E oriented, with the skull lying at W, facing W/S/W. The skeleton showed a very good state of preservation and ana-tomical connection and completeness. The complete cranium had fallen backwards, because it laid on a sort of wooden head-rest, or bowl, hence the mandible had lost the articulation with the cranial base. The teeth were fragmented, and some of them were lost during life (despite the young age of the individuals) as proved by the reabsorption of the alveoli. The arms were bent in front of the thorax, with the hands located near the face. The legs were contracted, forming an angle of 90° with the vertebral column, and the feet close to each other and located under the pelvis.The skeleton was partly wrapped in a leather shroud, the remains of which were found from the thorax to the legs and feet area, but not around the skull. The artefacts and chronological attributionInside the lithic cist four pieces of a kind of wooden headrest, or bowl made of Tamarix tetragyna, were found under the head, which lay on its right side (Fig. 16.104). Unluckily, the wood frag-ments were in a poor state of preservation, the outer surface was badly eroded and it was not possible to reconstruct the original


Fig. 16.104 – FW T914 H1, with fragments of a wooden object under the mandible.

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and one with parallel incisions on the rim top, but unfortunately they were too small for shape reconstruction. An AMS radiocarbon dating on H1 bone collagen set its age to 1940±25 uncal years BP, but a check date on the same sample made on bio-apatite gave a slightly different result: 1810±25 uncal years BP. Nevertheless, dates, archaeological context and preserved ce-ramics point to a Classical Garamantian attribution.Strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel was obtained from the preserved teeth (see Chapter 18), and the resulting value clustered with ratios from buried individuals of the necropolis central area and not with the ones at the SW fringes of the cemetery.

FW T976, located 60 m to the E of T914, on a flat area on top of the sandstone plateau, was selected for excavation (Fig. 16.106). It was similar in shape and size to the previous ones, presented a fair state of preservation and showed no apparent robbing activity. Its maximum diameter was 5 m ca. and its maximum height 1.1 m ca. The perimeter wall was composed of medium sized prismatic sandstone blocks (30 x 20 x 10 cm ca.) piled up in four rows. The inner surface was leveled with small rounded cobbles (5 cm ca. in length), varnished on the upper surface; while larger blocks min-gled in a loose sandy matrix formed the structure’s inner filling.

Pottery was present only on the outside of the structure: a small spot of 31 fragments, probably pertaining to a single undecorated small jar (Fig. 16.105), was found on top of the tumulus. In the area close to the fallen standing slabs, 24 pottery fragments were collected, most of which were undecorated bodies, apart from two rims pertaining to two small jars. One was undecorated


Fig. 16.106 – Plan of FW T976. The dashed areas are the finding spots of pottery fragments.

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with the skull lying at E and facing N. The skeleton showed a very good state of preservation and completeness. The cranium was intact and complete and the mandible maintained the articula-tion with the cranial base. Only some teeth were preserved (mainly the upper ones), while many lower ones were lost during life and their alveoli completely reabsorbed. The thoracic area was slightly chaotic, with several elements dislocated from the original posi-

More or less at the centre of the structure a SE-NW oriented oval lithic cist, measuring 105 x 92 cm, contained the buried individual lying on the bedrock. It was erected using ten sandstone blocks, ranging in dimension from a maximum of 60 x 29 x 16 cm to a minimum of 25 x 26 x 10 cm. A standing stone rested on the E side of the tumulus, and other six slabs of similar size (65 x 35 x 11 cm) were found on the ground. In addition, a rudimental ‘offering table’ formed by a slab resting on three small blocks was found 145 cm from the tumulus perimeter wall. Fragments of pottery were scattered in the area of the fallen slabs, on the E side of the tumulus, and a single fragment of a jar with roulette impressions was found close to the S side. The structure was excavated in a 2 x 2 m square trench and an E-W section (A-A’) was set along its centre.The stratigraphic sequence Ten stratigraphic units have been identified (Fig. 16.107). From the top to the bottom we have: 1. prismatic cobbles and tabular peb-bles (from 1 cm up to 30 cm), varnished on the upper surface. Many of them were included in slightly cemented sandy matrix; 2. me-dium sized sandstone slabs and blocks (40 cm in average length) mingled with loose windblown sand; 3. four long slabs (measuring 80 x 42 x16 cm in average dimension) covering the lithic cist; 4. lithic cist composed of 10 sandstone blocks; 5. yellow, loose sand filling the lithic cist and including the skeleton; 6. few centimetres thick coarse reddish sandy soil; 7. perimeter wall; 8. standing stone; 9. rudimental offering table; 10. bedrock.The burialThe skeleton of an adult male (H1), 35-40 years old, was found (Fig. 16.108). The body was contracted on the right side, E-W oriented,

Fig. 16.107 – Stratigraphic sequence of T976.


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16.4 Funerary practices

16.4.1 Burial rite: the corpse

Inhumation was the typical and only form of burial attested in the necropolis, following a long tradition in the region, which dates back to the Middle Pastoral phase (di Lernia and Manzi 2002) and even earlier (di Lernia and Tafuri 2013) (Fig. 16.110). Multiple deposi-tions over a long period of time in a single tumulus are attested in the region of the Wadi Tannezzuft (see 96/129 T1 and T2) and in the Fewet cemetery up to the Final Pastoral period (end of 3rd mil-lennium BP) (see above, FW T1287), while all tombs dated to the Garamantian times are single depositions that are well encircled by a lithic cist with annexes in case of assumed familiar relation (i.e. mother and son). This practise of keeping each buried corpse in its own cist is particularly evident in FW T1197 where a female was laid in the main cairn with four young children - two of which were newborns or even foeti at term - placed in four different an-nexes around her. This is also attested to a lesser degree in T1261, once again a female burial with a single annex preserving a new-born skeleton. We can compare this evidence to burials T1287 H2-H3 (adult female and child) and H4-H5-H6 (adult female and two children), all attributable to the Late/Final Pastoral phase, where fragments of the skeleton of all children were found together with the adult female bones. The individual monument or better single lithic cist marked a significant change which occurred in the tran-sition from the 2nd millennium BC to the half of the 1st millennium BC, and which was probably the outcome of different settlement pattern, social organisation and also funerary rites. The rise of per-manent settlements did not require the community to link their

tion (for example the left scapula). The arms were bent in front of the thorax, with the left hand under the face and the right one near the face. The legs were contracted, forming an angle of 90° with the spine; the feet were close to each other. Few remains of a leather shroud were found above the legs, arms and pelvic region. The artefacts and chronological attributionCeramics was found on the outside of the structure. In the area around the E side of the tumulus 46 pottery fragments were found scattered on the surface. The majority were undecorated bodies, apart from four fragments with white parallel painted lines, these being the only painted sherds found in the cemetery to date (Fig. 16.109). Painted pottery was not found in the Fewet compound but was present at Aghram Nadharif. It is generally dated to the Classi-cal/Late Garamantian period (see Chapter 6). A single fragment was found close to the S side of the tumulus wall, i.e. the rim of a jar with roulette decoration on the shoulder and on the rim top, which again is datable to the Classical/Late Garamantian phase. An AMS radiocarbon dating on H1 bone collagen set its age to 1960±40 uncal. years BP, which compared to the ceramics reper-toire, especially the painted ware, seems a bit too early, because it would attribute the structure to the beginning of the Classical Garamantian phase. Isotopic analysis was carried out on the preserved teeth. Strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel showed a value clustering with those of the individuals buried in tumuli at the SW fringes of the necropolis and comparable to those from the faunal remains of the excavated compound. It is the only structure in the central and eastern area of the Fewet cemetery whose ratio gave this kind of results (see Chapter 18).

Fig. 16.109 – Impressed and painted ceramics from FW T976.

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Fig. 16.110 – Position of the corpses in the excavated structures.

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presence in the territory through ancestry, and individual monu-ments became the most common pattern of the proto-historical period also in the Wadi el-Ajal region (Mattingly 2003: 226).Of the 33 individuals brought to light, 12 were females, 8 males and 13 subadults of different age (see Tab. 16.I and Chapter 17 Tab. 17.I). Males and females were buried in all types of tombs, children were either buried in annexes, as we have seen, or in type 1 or 2 single monuments (no drum-shaped tombs showed child inhumations). No direct relation between age and/or gender and volume of the structure is detectable from the data collected (see Tab. 16.I and Fig. 16.111): larger volumes of adult burials are attested for type 3 tombs but for 1 and 2 types the size of the structure is not related to sex or age (compare T593, child 0-6 months, vol. of cairn 5.29 m3 to T41, adult male 30-35 years old, vol. of cairn 0.81 m3).The position of the corpses was always contracted or tightly con-tracted in lateral decubitus (either left or right), except for three cases: T719 H1 (deposed on the back), T1197 H1 and T41 H1 (both ven-tral decubitus). Type 1 and 2 tumuli, smaller in volume and in lithic cist inner space, generally contained a tightly contracted corpse with both arms and legs pulled to the thorax area and often completely wrapped in a leather shroud, maybe for transport to the grave. In type 3 cairns the corpse was generally laid in a more natural position, with the vertebral column almost straight, legs bent but not crouched to the thorax, arms bent with hands close to the face (a single ex-ception in T712 H1 where the corpse was more tightly contracted). Fragments of leather shrouds were also found, but generally on the lower part of the body.No fixed correlation has been observed between sex and age of the individuals and the side of the lateral decubitus, even if the left side with the skull facing S seems predominant for males (Fig. 16.112). Nonetheless, a recurrent relation was found between the sex of the individuals and the orientation of the corpses. Generally speak-ing, males were always deposed E-W (skull at E), whereas females were deposed W-E (skull at W), following a tradition that was re-corded in the Tanezzuft area from the Final Pastoral phase (di Ler-nia et al. 2002b: 290). Small variations in orientation (NE-SW or SE-NW for males and NW-SE or SW-NE for females) are attested but do not significantly modify the general pattern (Fig. 16.113). On the basis of this correlation the orientation of the corpses was used to establish the sex of those individuals morphologically defined in-determinate (above all subadults), thus extending our knowledge on the composition and distribution of sexes (see Chapter 17). This is an important element to attempt a general statistical estimate

Fig. 16.112 – Side of lateral decubitus. Dark grey indicates the skull facing N, light grey S.

Fig. 16.113 – Corpses’ orientation according to sex.

Fig. 16.111 – Volume of the excavated structures compared to the age of the buried individual.


In a single case, T712 H1, bones were stained red, mostly on the skull, pelvis, left femur, ulna and tibia (note that the skeleton lay on the right side), but no traces of red pigment were found inside the lithic cist, under or around the skeleton. That would indicate that the ochre was not dispersed all over the corpse but placed in specific areas and maybe in different quantities as the intensity of the red colour varies from bone to bone. Ochre was probably used directly, either in its powdery state or – as it has been observed by Pauphillet in a burial at Tejeri – mixed in a liquid or fat and placed inside small leather containers located in specific areas over the corpse: «Il semble qu’il s’agisse de boules de cuir independents les unes des autres et posées sur le corps. (…) Elles sont constituées par de sorts de petits sachets enfermés les uns dans les autres en nombre de dix ou quinze. Entre chacun épaisseur de cuir apparait une legère couche de rouge en poudre. (…) Actuallement desséchées, ils contenaient sans

of male and female burials inside the necropolis, because, at least for type 3 tumuli, all the features outside the cairn (standing stones, offering tables/milking stools, stone alignments) are always locat-ed either to the E or to the W. Indeed, the excavation proved that the location of the outer structures always corresponded to the orientation of the skeleton; hence their position was in relation to the gender of the buried individual.As far as the treatment of the corpse is concerned, almost all buri-als show a preserved anatomical connection and an almost com-plete skeleton, which suggest primary depositions (for all the in-formation on preserved skeletal remains see Chapter 17 Tab. 17.I). The few cases where skeletal remains are very poorly preserved – most often very young children - can probably be attributed to post depositional bone dissolution processes rather than peculiar corpse treatment for which no other evidence was found.

Fig. 16.114 – Leather shrouds wrapping either the lower part of the buried body (A) or the entire corpse (B) and details of leather pieces (C and D).

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Mattingly et al. 2007), was found at Fewet, lining the substratum soil, in burials T669, T710 and T712, all type 3 tumuli.Finally, remains of a leather pillow were found under the head of T715 H1, and remains of a wooden headrest or maybe bowl in a bad state of preservation was retrieved under T914 H1 skull (at Kokaman, in grave T1 a fragment of a wooden vessel with an incised line was found under the skull of the buried individual – Pace et al. 1951: 388).No real shaft burial was found, the corpses were placed on the reddish, coarse sandy-silty soil substratum covering the bedrock, which was often excavated for a depth of 10-15 cm mainly to level it. The loose sandy layer, which filled all the lithic cists, showed lam-inations typical of a windblown accumulation through time, and probably means that the lithic box was simply closed with sand-stone slabs and the inner filling was due to later natural events.

16.4.2 Grave goods: inside or outside?

Grave goods placed inside the lithic cist are extremely rare: beads in ostrich eggshell, faience and glass and, less frequently, carnelian, amazonite and other stones (chalcedony and opal) are the most common finds (in 9 of the excavated monuments), but they were often few in number and probably personal belongings worn by the dead and buried with him/her (Tab. 16.III; see also Chapter 10). In tumuli dated to the Garamantian period, only one complete bracelet was found in situ on the wrist of an adult female (T715 H1) and a bead belt around the pelvis area of a child (T662 H1), prob-ably female from corpse orientation. In four of the eight cairns where beads were found inside the cist, only a single bead (in os-trich eggshell or glass/faience) was present, maybe used as a sort of amulet. Two beads were collected in one of the cairns, and only in T1223 8 beads (7 in ostrich eggshell and 1 in the local shale) were retrieved in the loose sand filling the cist, probably remains of a bracelet. Diversely, in T1287 (Late Pastoral in date) ostrich eggshell, carnelian and faience beads were found mingled in the stones of the monument and not inside a lithic cist.Beads were most frequently associated with female (4 occurrenc-es) and child (4 occurrences) burials, instead they were more rarely placed in male burials (1 adult male and 1 indeterminate/probably male on the base of corpse orientation).Pottery is almost absent inside the lithic cist and is more frequently placed either on top of the monument (in all three types) or out-side it (mainly in type 3), in the area adjacent either to the E or the W of the structure according to corpse orientation (Tab. 16.III). This general observation finds a parallel with the necropolis related to Aghram Nadharif, in agreement with findings reported by Leschi: «A El Barkat, par contre on trove peu de mobilier dans les tombeaux.

doute, à l’origine, un produit liquid ou graisseux» (Bellair et al. 1953: 76-77). A bone sample was collected for chemical analyses and pre-liminary results confirmed ochre as the main colouring agent (S. Bruni pers. comm.). Red stained bones were often found in Garamantian tombs from Wadi el-Ajal and are frequently documented in Saharan burials from the late Neolithic to the historical times. Moreover the pres-ence of ochre inside the funerary monuments is a recurring fea-ture in all North Africa, as powerful symbol of blood and life; the single evidence from Fewet relates to this long African tradition (Camps 1997: 187; Mattingly 2007: 155; for a general discussion of the meaning of red ochre in funerary practices see Wreschner 1980).As mentioned above, the corpses were often either completely (T120, T399, T669, T719, T1261) or partly wrapped in a leather shroud (fragments of leather being concentrated on the pelvis, legs and feet area in structures: T954, T1223, T40, T41, T1197 H1, T593, T1120, T1226, T715, T914, T976) (Fig. 16.114). Fragments of leather seldom preserved traces of red colour (in T1223, T1997 H1, T593, T1226) and in a single case (T715) some pieces showed straight lines of holes, evidence of stitching, even if no sewing thread was preserved.Textiles were extremely rare and a small piece of textile (not wool but vegetal fibre) was collected only in T712 lithic cist and this ab-sence is probably related to the lack of evidence for weaving in the Fewet compound. At Aghram Nadharif conical loom weights were found, even in small groups, indicating the introduction of the warp-weighted loom from the 1st century AD (Mori 2005). In the adjacent cemetery at Barkat, according to Leschi, corpses were often covered with a leather shroud but also pieces of textiles: «Le corps était souvent revêtu d’un vêtement de cuir, manteaux ou tunique cousue à manches, il étatit parfois couché sur une natte et recouvert par des pièces d’étoffe fixées par des liens en fibre de palmier» (Leschi 1945: 185). In Wadi Tanezzuft, fragments of textiles (flax dyed with indigo and wool coloured in yellow and red) were found in the so-called Royal Tumulus of In Aghelachem, dated to the 1st century AD (Maspero et al. 2002) and in tumulus T2 on the Kokaman mound, at Ghat (Pace et al. 1951: 388). In Wadi el-Ajal both leather and tex-tiles (mostly wool) were commonly found as well (Mattingly 2003: 223; Mattingly et al. 2007, 2010). At Fewet the absence of wool tex-tile and the predominant use of leather in the cemetery probably mirrored an absence or paucity of wool production in the small rural village, and a prevalent use of leather also among the living, maybe legacy still of a pastoral world.Straw matting, attested at Aghram Nadharif, at the Kokaman ne-cropolis and also in the Wadi el-Ajal both at the bottom of the lithic cist and wrapping the body (Leschi 1945: 185; Pace et al. 1951: 388;


in Colonial times. Among the funerary rituals of the Fezzan region (Murzuq, el-Gatrun), Mordini mentioned the custom of putting a common pot, used in the daily life of the dead person and intention-ally broken/”killed” on top of his tomb (Mordini 1937: 463). The study on the ceramic repertoire of the Fewet necropolis by Maria Carmela Gatto showed a general similarity of the pottery production from the one attested in settlements contexts (see Chapter 6). Changes are due to chronology rather than function: same undecorated jars or bowls were found in the excavated com-pound and in funerary monuments; more decorated types find parallels in the Aghram Nadharif repertoire, again a site developed slightly later than the Fewet village. Luxury and imported pottery are extremely rare at Fewet (a Tripolitanian amphora handle close to T719, a Roman Sigillata bowl adjacent to T710 for the excavated tombs), but, when present, they are generally related to the drum-shaped tombs (see Chapter 15). The two bronze items collected (Fig. 16.115) were also found in type 3b tumuli, and are: a bronze bead found on the ground adjacent to T710 and a bronze riveted bend plate, maybe decorating a belt, from T446 retrieved during the survey on top of the tumulus. Together with pots, vesicular basalt lamps were typical items laid as grave goods outside, or on top of the Garamantian tumuli. Thir-teen lamps were collected during the excavation and survey and are comparable to the examples found both in the Fewet com-pound and in Aghram Nadharif (see Chapter 8).

16.4.3 Features related to the funerary rite

Among the excavated monuments dating to the Garamantian times external features related to the funerary rites have been found only in relation to the drum-shaped tombs (Type 3). The main cylindrical structure, as we have seen, was enriched with flat slabs or long parallelepiped blocks resting against the perimeter wall which vary in number from one to seven (T712: 1; T710, 716, 914: 3; T715: 4; T976: 7). Approximately 1 m away, a very simple kind of

Les poteries, grossières pour la plupart, abondent autour des tom-beaux, mais elles sont presque absentes de l’intérier des sépultures» (Leschi 1945: 185). However, it does not agree with the Garamantian funerary evidence from Kokaman (Pace et. al 1951) and Tin Alkum (Leschi 1945), all cemeteries dating to the Classical and Late Gara-mantian period where grave goods, some being imported luxury items (Fontana 1995), were placed inside the cist. At Fewet, in the larger drum-shaped tombs with several vessels and imported pot-tery (in T710 a fragment of a Roman Sigillata bowl was found), all the pots were placed outside the structures, even in tombs dated to the Classical and Late Garamantian phases. This is further evidence of the persistence of local traditions which kept their identity from place to place even in the restricted area of the Ghat/Barkat/Fewet oases. As it has been noted for drum-shaped tumuli (see Chapter 15), even if their general layout was an innovation in the mortuary landscape of the Wadi Tanezzuft, their building technique, refine-ment and final aspect varied from cemetery to cemetery (at Agh-ram Nadharif and at Fewet, but also in the contemporary drum cairns found close to the Wadi Awiss Garamantian castles/forts – Biagetti and di Lernia 2008).The placement of the relatively few vessels underwent changes through time, the most evident of which clearly occurred with the introduction of drum tombs. Small features devoted to the burial rites were found in all excavated 3b structures: standing slabs, of-ten fallen on the ground but clearly distinguishable from the stones forming the structure, and so-called milking stools which clearly had the function of a sort of ‘offering table’ as pottery was always con-centrated in the area between those two elements. In those con-texts pottery fragmentation was extremely high due to the expo-sure of the ceramics to natural elements and to robbing activity, but the fragments were probably the remains of complete vessels used for specific funerary practices performed outside the cairn (food of-ferings, libations perhaps related also to the practice of incubation?). Regarding types 1 and 2, in some cases a single complete vessel, generally in the shape of a jar, was found on top of the tumulus (T40, T1197 and the unexcavated structure T644). Sometimes only few sherds were collected on top of the structure, and may have been placed as broken fragments instead of complete pots (T41, T1261). However, most frequently pottery had been intentionally broken and spread in different layers from the top of the cairn to the inner filling of the structure (T661, T669, T954, T1191, T1197), a kind of ritual practice which has a long tradition in burials of the Wadi Tanezzuft region (di Lernia and Manzi 2002). It is noteworthy that types 1 and 2 tumuli were also the most related to the local funerary tradition. This long tradition of placing pots outside the tombs was reported also

2 cm

Fig. 16.115 – Copper alloy riveted bend plate collected on top of tumulus FW T446.

312 L . M o r i , F . r i c c i

dated to the 1st cent. AD (Biagetti and di Lernia 2008) (Fig. 16.116). Pottery was always scattered in the same area. These features, typical of the Garamantian period and not attested in the funerary evidence of the Pastoral period, show connections with contem-porary funerary practices from the Wadi el-Ajal (Mattinlgy 2003). The presence of rudimental stelae in the region studied was firstly recorded by L. Leschi in the Barkat cemetery («Des pierres pointues dressées contre le chouchet, et un alignement rectiligne de groups des pierres aboutissant à une pile plus grosse, indiquent, en général, le point où se trove la tête du cadavre») (Leschi 1945: 185). Evidence of stelae and offering tables in the Wadi Tanezzuft was found in the Royal Tumulus at In Aghelachem, but in a very different topographic and architectural setting. The funerary monument was composed of a huge stepped tomb enriched by a considerable number of small structures, heap of stones and U structures which do not have pa-rallels in our area (di Lernia and Manzi 2002: 102-116). The main cairn was looted but the remains of two male individuals were found, while burnt animal bones were excavated under the small heaps of stones, the former being probably the remains of a funerary banquet (Alhaique and di Lernia 2005). In one of the U structures five thin trapezoidal slabs were aligned in front of the western wall

‘table’ (a flat horizontal slab resting upon three blocks) was placed either to the East or to the West of the tumulus, according to the gender of the buried individual. Slabs placed as stelae either on the eastern or western side of drum-shaped tumuli were found in the cemeteries related to two castles/forts in the Wadi Awiss area,

Fig. 16.116 – A standing slab and a rudimental offering table (“milking stools”) adjacent to a type 3b tumulus.

Fig. 16.117 – In Aghelachem U structure with stelae and offering table.


rials and a monumental structure, it also represents an intere sting counterpart to the Royal Tumulus of In Aghelachem dated to the Classical Garamantian times (heterarchy versus an assumed rai-sing of hierarchy, at least at a tribal level). What is interesting to note is the shift from a monumental tomb for kin-related indi-viduals, as the case of tumulus T1287, to a monumental tomb dedi-cated to a single individual, probably related to power instead, as that of In Aghelachem (see Chapter 20). Together with T1178, T1287 is dated to the Late Pastoral period and probably reused in the Final Pastoral phase, as we have seen above and showed many features which differ from the rest of the excavated structures, such as: isolated and monumen-tal structure with stone ring; multiple burials; reopening of the main cairn and long use of the tomb; typical grave goods among which lithics and ostrich eggshell beads, worked with stone tools and not with metal ones.The time gap between this structure and the earliest burials attri-butable to the Formative and Mature Garamantian phases is over a thousand years, and, leaving aside T669 for which archaeologi-cal context and cultural material would suggest a later date (see above), all the other results are spread over a chronological time span going from the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. In ge-neral terms the radiocarbon dates support the chronological de-velopment of the funerary area reconstructed from the survey: the group of both type 1 and 2 structures excavated on the SW fringes of the cemetery and close to the excavated village were attributed to a period from the 5th to the 1st century BC (T41, T1226, T1191, T1197, T1261, T1223), while the four radiocardon dated drum-shaped tumu-li located in the central and W areas of the necropolis ranged from the 1st to the 4th century AD (T976, T914, T715, T716).This chronological distribution related to the geographic loca-tion of structures is generally confirmed by strontium isotopes analysis on dental enamel from the preserved teeth of several in-dividuals, compared also to the strontium isotope ratio on dental enamel from the faunal remains excavated in the Fewet village (see Chapter 18). Values grouped in two separate clusters with no gender differentiation: one included tumuli T1191, T1197, T1223, T1261 and the animal teeth from the excavated village, while the other included structures mostly located in the central and W area of the cemetery, suggesting a different provenience of the two groups (see Chapter 18 and Fig. 18.4). This kind of research is still at a preliminary stage. Further isotopic analysis have been planned and will be performed in a short time, and will hopefully improve our understanding of the articulated demographic pat-tern testified by the Fewet necropolis.

– a huge slab lay in front of them in correspondence of the centre of the wall. Several charcoal remains and one unburnt fragment of wood were found under the slab which was interpreted as an offering table (di Lernia et al. 2002b: 108-113) (Fig. 16.117). In Jerma, simple slabs and roughly carved stone vessels were laid on the outer perimeter wall of stone tumuli from the second half of the 1st millennium BC, but from the 1st century AD, the Classical Garaman-tian phase, the stone working of these two elements improved in quality and elaborated a complexity of forms which implied specialised craftsmanship (Mattingly 2003: 207-213; 2007: 147-150; 2010; Mattingly et al. 2011). Stelae and offering tables played an im-portant role in the burial practices of the Garamantian heartland, and were probably related to the ancestors’ cult, where offerings and libations for the dead were performed in burial sites. Accor-ding to Classical sources, similar rites were widespread among the Libyan tribes, together with the practice of incubation. Herodotus and Pomponius Mela described Nasamones and Augilae sleeping on their ancestors’ tomb for divination, and the frequent presence of small ‘chapels’ or rooms in front of the funerary monuments all over the Western part of North Africa was indicated by D. Camps as the physical place to perform such practices (Camps 1986). The funerary evidence of the Fewet cemetery is not comparable to the complex evolution of the mortuary landscape in the central Fez-zan region from the Classical Garamantian period, nevertheless the introduction of drum tombs with their ritual apparatus might represent a kind of peripheral echo mingled with persistent local funerary traditions. Nonetheless, it marked a significant and reco-gnizable shift from the previous funerary traditions and its chrono-logical appearance is thus an important element.

16.4.4 The life of a funerary ground: chronology of the Fewet cemetery obtained from the excavation data

Fifteen radiocarbon dates on bone collagen were run from the skeletal sample brought to light at Fewet, four of which were ex-perimentally carried out also on bio-apatite (Tab. 16.II). They trace a long period of time, going from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC (T1287) to the 3rd-4th century AD (T716), during which the sandstone plateau adjacent to the oasis of Fewet was used as a burial place with different density and distribution, likely mirroring local social dynamics and settlement pattern variations (see Chapter 15).Tumulus T1287, whose radiocarbon date is consistent with the ar-chaeological record, is an extremely important term of compari-son between the Late Pastoral and the proto-historical funerary evidence at Fewet. As it is an isolated tumulus with multiple bu-

314 L . M o r i , F . r i c c i

Sample Lab code (UGAMS where not specified)

Material Uncal. BP date Calibrated AD date

FW T1287 H4 # 02205 collagen 3590±40

95.4% probability2117 (1.7%) 2098calBC

2039 (88.5%) 1874calBC1844 (3.2%) 1816calBC1799 (2.0%) 1779calB

FW T669 H1# 02203 collagen 2520±40 (rejected) 706 (95.4%) 539calBC

# LTL13707A collagen 2220±45 391 (95.4%) 184cal BC

FW T41 H1 # 02204 collagen 2390±40

95.4% probability747 (11.4%) 688calBC665 (2.7%) 646calBC588 (0.5%) 581calBC

554 (80.8%) 390calBC

FW T719 H1 # 02200 collagen 2360±70

95.4% probability757 (12.9%) 683calBC670 (76.5%) 354calBC292 (6.0%) 231calBC

FW T1226 H1 # 02209 collagen 2290±4095.4% probability

407 (52.5%) 349calBC313 (42.9%) 208calBC

FW T1197 H1 # 02201 collagen 2230±40 95.4% probability389 202calBC

FW T1191 # 02210 collagen 2220±40 95.4% probability382 (95.4%) 174calBC

FW T1261 H1 # 02206 collagen 2160±4095.4% probability

363 (94.6%) 92calBC68 (0.8%) 61calBC

FW T1223 H1 #8705 collagen 2060±25 95.4% probability166calBC (95.4%) 1calAD

#8705a apatite 2120±2595.4% probability

338 (1.3%) 330calBC204 (94.1%) 53calBC

FW T715 H1 # LTL13441A collagen 1962±40 95.4% probability50BC (95.4%) 130calAD

FW T976 H1 # 02208 collagen 1960±40 "95.4% probability43calBC (95.4%) 126calAD”

FW T914 H1 #8703 collagen 1940±2595.4% probability

39calBC (94.3%) 85calAD109 (1.1%) 115calAD

#8703a apatite 1810±25 95.4% probability127 (95.4%) 254calAD

FW T954 H1 # 02202 collagen 1920±4095.4% probability20 (0.8%) 13calBC

1calBC (94.6%) 215calAD

FW T1210 H1 #8704 collagen 1900±25

30 (1.1%) 38calAD51 (88.8%) 140calAD148 (3.1%) 173calAD194 (2.3%) 210calAD


411 (94.2%) 361calBC271 (1.2%) 262calBC

FW T716 H1 #8702 collagen 1740±25 95.4% probability240 (95.4%) 382calAD


87 (3.6%) 104calAD121 (91.8%) 240calAD

Tab. 16.II – Radiocarbon datings from the Fewet necropolis.


16.119 – Examples of tightly contracted skeletal remains from the Fewet necropolis: FW T669 (A), and FW T719 (B).

Fig. 16.118 – C14 calibrated datings from the collagen of some buried individuals of the Fewet necropolis.

A B

316 L . M o r i , F . r i c c i

Tumulus Type & Phase

Sex of burial

Age at death (years)

Orientation Related structures Ceramics Beads Food offerings Others

T120 1aG

F 30-35 W-E, skull at W

_ _ 1 dark blu glass bead inside the lithic cist

_ 4 fragments of a vesicular basalt lamp on top

of the tumulus

T954 1aMG


107 pottery sherds close to the tumulus western

side, 7 sherds on top on the structure, 18 in layer 2. At least 3 undecorated jars

_ 3 dry date fruits and 8 date stones inside

the cist

Almost half of a vesicular basalt lamp on top

of the tumulus

T1178 1aLP

_ _ _ _ 8 pottery sherds pertai-ning to a single vessel

scattered in layer 2

_ _ _

T399 1bMG(?)

M 25-30 E-W, skull at E

_ _ Two fragments of a blue glass bead inside the

lithic cist

_ _

T661 1bMG/CG

Ind 7-8 E-W, skull at E

_ 3 pottery sherds in layer 2, 3 others inside the lithic cist, probably pertaining

to a single jar

_ 4 small fragments of date stones inside the

lithic cist

_

T662 1bMG/CG

Ind 10-11 W-E, skull at W

_ 1 pottery sherd outside the tumulus

213 complete ostrich eggshell and 254 glassy

faience beads were found inside the lithic

cist, part of them still in situ close to the pelvis

area. Other 126 OEB and 167 F beads were scatte-red outside the tumulus.

24 fragments of date sto-nes inside the lithic cist

_

T1223 1bMG

Ind 12-14 E-W, skull at E

_ _ 7 ostric eggshell beads and 1 soft stone bead

inside the lithic cist

_ _

T1287 1b LP/FP H1 F 18-20 W-E, skull at W; Circular platform around main tumulus

74 pottery sherds from layers 1-4, pertaining to at least three different

bowls

218 ostrich eggshell, 5 carnelian and 3 faience

beads from layer 1-4

28 date stones in layer 2 1 quartz arrow head, one quartzite flake used

maybe as wedge, 1 ceramic pendant

LP/FP H2 Ind 3-4

LP/FP H3 M >40

LP H4 F 20-30 NW-SE, skull at NW

LP H5 Ind 5-6

LP H6 Ind 2-3

T040 1bCG/LG(?)


Inserted in Stone Structure 1

An almost complete jar on top on the tumulus

_ _ _

T041 1bFG


Rectangular cist adjacent to the S side of the outer

perimeter

7 pottery sherds on top of the tumulus

_ _ _

T1191 2aMG


_ 1 pottery sherd in layer 2 _ 1 date stone inside the lithic cist

_

T1197 2a MG H1 F 30-40 W-E, skull at W 4 semicircular annexes located to the NE-NW-SE-

SW of the tumulus

Pottery sherds pertaining to a single jar were

scattered in layer 1-2 and inside the lithic cist

of the main cairn. Two small jars were located on top of SW and NW annexes together with

a spouted bowl

One blue-green glass bead inside H2 lithic cist;

one ostrich eggshell bead inside H4 lithic cist.

_ _

MG H2 Ind 0-6 months

W-E, skull at W

MG H3 Ind about 3 W-E, skull at W

MG H4 Ind 8-9 lunar months

MG H5 Ind 8-9 lunar months

W-E, skull at W

T593 2bMG/CG(?)

Ind foetal/neonatal

_ _ _ _ _ _

Tab. 16.III – Fewet necropolis excavated tumuli: summary table with grave goods and findings. Phase: L(ate)P(astoral); F(inal)P(astoral); G(aramantian); F(ormative)G, C(lassic)G, L(ate)G.

continue


Camps G. (1961) Aux origines de la Berbérie. Monuments et rites funéraires protohistoriques, Arts et Métiers Graphiques, Paris.

Camps G. (1986) Funerary monuments with attached chapels from the northern Sahara, African Archaeological Review, 4: 151-164.

Camps G. (1997) Tin Hinan et sa légende. A propos du tumulus principier d’Abalessa (Ahaggar, Algérie), Bulletin archéologique du comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, n.s. 24: 173-195.

Caputo G. (1937) Archeologia, in Il Sáhara Italiano. Parte I: Fezzán e Oasi di Ghat, Società Italiana Arti Grafiche, Roma: 303-330.

Castelli R., Cremaschi M., Gatto M. C., Liverani M. and Mori L. (2005) A Preliminary Report of Excavations in Fewet, Libyan Sahara, Journal of African Archaeology, 3: 69-102.

Castelli R. and Liverani M. (2005) Cemeteries around the Barkat area, in Liverani M. (ed.) Aghram Nadharif. The Barkat oasis (Sha’abiya of Ghat, Libyan Sahara) in Garamantian times, Edizioni All’Insegna del Giglio, Firenze: 25-27.

ReferencesAlhaique F. (2002) Archaeozoology of the funerary structures, in di Lernia S. and Manzi G.

(eds.) Sand, Stones, and Bones. The Archaeology of Death in the Wadi Tanezzuft Valley (5000-2000 BP), AZA 3, Edizioni All’Insegna del Giglio, Firenze: 181-195.

Alhaique F. and di Lernia S. (2005) Rituali funerari dei Garamanti nello Wadi Tannezuft (Sahara libico). Atti del 4° Convegno Nazionale di Archeozoologia (Pordenone 13-15 Novembre 2003), in Malerba G. and Visentini P. (eds.) Quaderni del Museo Archeologi-co del Friuli Occidentale, 6: 237-241.

Bellair P., Gobert E. G., Jodot P. and Pauphillet D. (1953) Mission au Fezzan, Imprimerie Officielle de la Tunisie, Tunis.

Biagetti S. and di Lernia S. (2008) Combining intensive field survey and digital techno-logies. New data on the Garamantian castles of Wadi Awiss (Acacus Mts., Libyan Sahara), Journal of African Archaeology, 6: 57-85.

Tumulus Type & Phase

Sex of burial

Age at death (years)

Orientation Related structures Ceramics Beads Food offerings Others

T1210 2bCG

F 30-35 SW-NE, skull at SW

_ _ _ _ _

T1226 2bMG

M 40-45 EW, skull at E

_ _ _ _ _

T1261 2b MG H1 F 35-40 SW-NE, skull at SW

One semicircular annex to the S of the main cairn

10 pottery sherds pertaining to two small bowls found on top of

the tumulus

1 blue glass bead inside H1 lithic cist

_ _

MG H2 Ind 0-6 months

E-W, skull at E

T719 2b FG Ind 13-15 E-W, skull at E Crater tumulus _ _ _ _

T669 3aMG(?)


One semicircular annex to the S of the main cairn

20 pottery sherds scat-tered in all layers of the

main tumulus, 21 sherds inside the annex

_ 1 date stone inside the main lithic cist

_

T710 3bCG


Three standong stones and a rudimental offering

table to the E of the tumulus

24 pottery sherds scat-tered in the area around the offering table toge-

ther with 1 fragment of a sigillata bowl

1 bronze bead close to the offering table

_ _

T712 3bLG


1 possible standing stone and a rudimental offering

table on the W side of the tumulus

73 pottery sherds scat-tered in the area around

the offering table, at least 6 jars and 1 bowl

1 ostrich eggshell bead and 1 faience bead inside

the lithic cist

_ A small piece of fabrics close to the skull

T715 3bCG

F 20-25 SW-NE, skull at SW

6 standing stones and a rudimental offering table to the W of the tumulus


the offering table. At least one bowl

A complete bracelet composed of 47 ostrich

eggshell beads, 13 carne-lian beads, 3 amazonite

beads, 3 calcedony and 1 opal bead was found on

the skelton left wrist

_ Remains of a leather pillow (?) under the skull

T716 3bLG


Three standing stones, one rudimental offering

table and a stone alignment on the

tumulus E side

93 pottery sherds scattered on the E side

of the tumulus, at least 3 jars and a bowl

_ _ _

T914 3bCG/LG(?)


Three standing stones and a possible offering

table in the tumulus W side

31 pottery sherds on top of the tumulus, maybe

pertaining to a single jar

_ _ Four fragments of a wooden headrest or bowl under the skull

T976 3bCG


From one to 7 standing slabs and a rudimental offering table on the

tumulus E side


the offering table, among which 4 painted sherds.

1 fragmnet of a jar on the tumulus S side

_ _ _

318 L . M o r i , F . r i c c i

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the excavation of the fewet necropolis

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