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DMP II: 2008 fieldwork on burials and identity in the Wadi al-Ajal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2015

David Mattingly ,
John Dore ,
Marta Lahr ,
Muftah Ahmed ,
Franca Cole ,
Jon Crisp ,
Mireya Gonzalez Rodriguez ,
Matt Hobson ,
Misbah Ismayer  and
Victoria Leitch
...Show all authors
David Mattingly
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
John Dore
Affiliation:
Department of Historical Studies, University of Newcastle, UK
Marta Lahr
Affiliation:
Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, UK
Muftah Ahmed
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
Franca Cole
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, UK
Jon Crisp
Affiliation:
MOLAS, London, UK
Mireya Gonzalez Rodriguez
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
Matt Hobson
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
Misbah Ismayer
Affiliation:
Department of Antiquities, Tripoli, Libya
Victoria Leitch
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford, UK
Farès Moussa
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, UK
Efthymia Nikita
Affiliation:
Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, UK
Ian Reeds
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
Toby Savage
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
Martin Sterry
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, UK
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Abstract

The second season of the Desert Migrations Project took place in January 2008, with work following several substrands. The Burials and Identity component of the project is the subject of this report. Excavation and survey work were concentrated in the Watwat embayment, expanding on, and completing the work begun in 2007. Forty burials have now been excavated from the approximately 2,500 surveyed by the project team in a series of different cemeteries and burial zones within the closed valley that cuts back into the escarpment of the Massak, approximately 3 km southwest of Jarma. The most exciting discovery this year was the recovery of two mummified bodies from the UAT008 cemetery, along with further well-preserved textiles, including some exquisitely woven multi-coloured fragments. Another major discovery was a richly furnished Garamantian burial (UAT050.T5), containing numerous imported vessels (fineware, glass and amphorae) from the Roman world. Additional excavations included two child burials from GSC048, located in a modern quarry due south of Jarma, and a preliminary investigation of one of the Taqallit cemeteries, located approximately 30 km to the west (to be the subject of the main excavation effort in 2009).

Type
Archaeological Reports
Information
Libyan Studies , Volume 39 , 2008 , pp. 223 - 262
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Libyan Studies 2000

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