gems, archaeology, archaeogemology, Africa, Libya

The Garamantes were the ancient inhabitants of Fezzān, one of the southern regions of modern Libya (see Maps 1 and 2). They are attested by classical writers, from Herodotus until late Roman times. Recent work by the Libyan Department of Antiquities (Ayoub, 1961, 1967) and the British expedition led by C. M. Daniels has produced a mass of new archaeological materials, adding to what was already published by the 1933 Italian expedition (Caputo et al., 1951) and the 1949 French expedition (Pauphilet, 1953). Burial custom is one of the important aspects of Garamantian culture to be discussed in this article. Here the Garamantian burial customs are examined in the broader context of the Berber and other peoples of North Africa. The earliest burials at Wädi al-Ajal resemble those commonly practiced by the north-west African Berbers, namely the simple cairn (Fig. 1). Thousands of these are found scattered over the slopes of the Hamada escarpment, each one standing alone without encroaching on others. On inspection, these early cairns are typical examples of the simplest type of monument throughout the Berber area of North Africa.