Geo-Archaeological survey in the Kufra Eni Contract Area (Eastern Sahara, SE Libya)

The results of a geo-archaeological survey in an area south of Kufra (SE Libya) are discussed. The campaign, organised by the Department of Archaeology of Tripoli (Libya) with the University La Sapienza (Rome), was funded by ENI North Africa BV. The survey brought to light an unexpectedly rich cultural heritage, testifying human occupation from the Old Stone age to Late Holocene. Palaeo-environmental evidence, on the contrary, is rare because of wind erosion. Archaeological evidence is from large Old Stone age sites for the exploitation of raw material (close to quartzarenite outcrops), and sites belonging to the Pastoral Neolithic horizon. Sites with lithics, ceramics, fireplaces and grinding stones are few, while isolated tethering stones are scattered all over the investigated area. They testify the marginality of this region during the Middle Holocene. Finally, some stone structures were identified, including tumuli, alignments and road markers. The project stressed the archaeological importance of the area and allowed to collect a sufficient amount of data to define a spatial and chronological relationship with better known regions of the Sahara.