 |
|
 |
|
The Acacus, at the heart of the Libyan Sahara, on the border with Algeria, is a place of extraordinary natural beauty. It also represents an invaluable register of the environmental, cultural and spiritual changes which have taken place over many millennia of human history. In the mid-1950s, the palaeoethnologist Fabrizio Mori began to explore and study this massif, enclosed between the immense sandy expanses of the Erg Uan Kasa, and the spurs of the Algerian Tassili mountains. The world opening up before the eyes of this Tuscan scholar – who undertook his first explorations by camel, with the help of a few faithful Tuareg guides – is one of extraordinary beauty.
Hundreds of prehistoric paintings adorn the rock shelters in the mountain labyrinths of the Acacus, traces of a world and an environment which have since vanished.
These extraordinary traces, and Fabrizio Mori’s silent work, led to the inclusion of the Acacus on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1985.
The history of the Italian Archaeological Mission run by Rome’s “La Sapienza” University in the Acacus and Messak region thus begins almost half a century ago, along lines initially established by Fabrizio Mori, taken up and continued by Salvatore M. Puglisi, and in more recent years by Mario Liverani, Mauro Cremaschi and Savino di Lernia.
The tradition which has been passed down until the present day is thus highly prestigious and virtually unique. As a result, the “La Sapienza” University can boast an excavation concession of enormous extent: over 60,000 km2 – equivalent to almost half of Sicily! – and an uninterrupted process of study and research which has few parallels on a world level. Forming an integral part of the excavation concession are the Tadrart Acacus massif, the valley of the Wadi Tanezzuft, the sandy expanses of the Erg Uan Kasa and part of the Edeyen of Murzuq, and, finally, the vast plateau of Messak Settafet.
The Mission initially concentrated its efforts on finding, cataloguing and studying the region’s extraordinary rock art. Today, traditional survey and excavation activities are accompanied by more modern techniques employing satellite analysis, digital platforms and electronic archives. The scientific aims of the Mission, which from the outset has acted in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities in Tripoli, is the reconstruction of the human presence in the area – from the remotest prehistory to the advent of Islam – set and analysed within an appropriate climatic and environmental context.
To reach this objective, the Archaeological Mission carries out one or two excavation campaigns each year, with a total of 60 to 110 days of fieldwork. This fieldwork, including both surface surveys and systematic archaeological excavations, is organized according to themes. These vary depending on the specific project underway: geology and geoarchaeology, prehistoric archaeology, historic archaeology, and rock art form the basis for our activities in the Sahara. In recent years, these have been accompanied by increasingly pressing requests for training and expert advice on the conservation
and protection of this area by the Libyan authorities, engaged in an ongoing battle to defend its cultural and environmental heritage, under increasing threat from oil drilling and the enormous increase in tourism.
The Mission’s work obviously does not end in Libya, in the desert expanses of the Sahara, but continues in Italy, where restoration, cataloguing and laboratory work is carried out. The scientific literature produced by the Mission is extensive, and includes articles in both general-interest and specialist journals, catalogues, and monographs. These results are also presented in an ongoing fashion at national and international conferences, and at seminars and round table discussions. The tradition of exhibiting the extraordinary archaeological heritage of the Acacus has also led to a series of large exhibitions (in Paris, Rome, Tripoli and New York), the last of which was held in the Aula Magna of Rome’s “La Sapienza” University (1992).
The Acacus Mission is not an isolated entity, but has a number of partners and collaborators.
It works within the ambit of the CIRSA (Inter-University Centre for Research on the Civilizations and the Environment of the Ancient Sahara and other Arid Lands), a research body set up around the Mission in 1992 (by Fabrizio Mori), and today directed by Mario Liverani. Within CIRSA, the Mission collaborates closely with the University of Milan. Among other collaborators are Rome’s “Tor Vergata” University, the University of Modena, the Istituto Centrale del Restauro (Central Institute for Restoration), the CNR (ITBAC, Rome) and, obviously, UNESCO.
Obviously, the Archaeological Mission in the Acacus is a non-profit organization, and is regularly funded with the public funds of Rome’s “La Sapienza” University (Grandi Scavi di Ateneo) and by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Promozione Culturale, Missioni Estere). Additional funding has been provided by the Ministry for Education, Universities and Research (Cofin, 1999, 2001), and the CNR (National Research Council- Agenzia 2000). One of the Mission’s fundamental activities, alongside scientific research, is the training of Libyan staff (through a series of annual scholarships), and ensuring real benefits for local Libyan communities. In 1998 the Mission prepared the exhibits for part of the Archaeological Museum at Germa, with archaeological finds, explanatory panels, and reconstructions of excavations. Future projects, already in an advanced stage, include the Acacus and Messak National Park, and the creation of an Archaeological Museum at Ghat.
The Acacus Mission is not an isolated entity, but has a number of partners and collaborators. It works within the ambit of the CIRSA (Inter-University Centre for Research on the Civilizations and the Environment of the Ancient Sahara and other Arid Lands), a research body set up around the Mission in 1992 (by Fabrizio Mori), and today directed by Mario Liverani. Within CIRSA, the Mission collaborates closely with the University of Milan. Among other collaborators are Rome’s “Tor Vergata” University, the University of Modena, the Istituto Centrale del Restauro (Central Institute for Restoration), the CNR (ITBAC, Rome) and, obviously, UNESCO.
|
|
| |
|
Italian-Libyan Archaeological Mission in the Acacus and Messak - Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"
Via Palestro 63, 00185 Rome - Italy | Tel/Fax: [+39] 06.4467661 E-mail: info@acacus.it
Images protected: © Archivio
Missione Italiana nell'Acacus e Messak Università di Roma La Sapienza