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The village of Fehwet, located in a small oasis around 10 km southwest of the Ghat oasis, a short distance from the Tassili mountains, was excavated during the 2002 and 2003 campaigns with promising results. Underneath the modern village a fortified settlement of slightly earlier date than Aghram Nadharif has been found. The first level of occupation, probably dating to the 3rd century BC, was partially destroyed by a fire in the 1st century BC, and therefore represents important evidence for the creation and development of Garamantian civilization.
Fig. 1 - 3D reconstruction of the fortified village of Fehwet
Fig. 2 - Photograph of the housing units |
A stone wall around 1 m thick, with an approximate perimeter of 200 m2, surrounds a small square village (Fig. 1). This is occupied in part by housing units similar to those found at Aghram Nadharif (two rooms, in this case with one larger square room and a smaller rectangular chamber), but built in mud brick (Fig. 2), and in part by rectangular rooms backing onto the perimeter walls and opening onto a central courtyard (Fig. 3). The state of preservation of the eastern side of the
village, due to a fire, has allowed us to recover tools and archaeological
materials in situ on the floors of the rooms excavated: jars used to
store foodstuffs, woven baskets containing seeds and dates (Fig. 4),
grind-stones and pestles to pulverize grains, together with more characteristic
finds such as fragments of clay figurines, similar to those found in
the capital of the Garamantian state but unique in this region, at
least hitherto. |
Fig. 3 - View of the southern side of |
Fig. 4 - Woven mat with carbonized |
Other architectural structures, perhaps belonging to other fortified complexes, lie beneath the houses of the modern village, and can only be investigated in between its housing blocks. A campaign of geomagnetic surveys to reconstruct the topography and extent of these underlying structures is planned for the next campaign.
Two surveys have already been carried out
in order to check the chronological and topographical relationships of
these structures with the settlement previously excavated. The most promising
survey has allowed us to identify two rectangular rooms built respectively
in stone and mud brick (Fig. 5), with typical Garamantian pottery and
fragments of whetstones, stone oil lamps and clay figures like those
discovered in the fortified village. The presence of small fireplaces
has allowed the two floor levels found to be dated to the 3rd to 1st
century BC, confirming the earlier date of these structures with respect
to Aghram Nadharif. |
Fig. 5 - Plan of the structures found |
A short distance from the village lies a necropolis, spread out on the slopes of some low hills, with tombs of different types, but certainly connected in part to this settlement; a study of these is also planned for the next campaigns.
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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
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Missione Italiana nell'Acacus e Messak Università di Roma La Sapienza
