Egypt, Carthage and other African civilisations are well documented but the land and people between them are less well known yet also worthy of consideration. This collection of extracts from classical authors on subjects relating to ancient Libya presents more than fifty writers from Homer to the end of the Roman Empire and provides an eclectic mixture of descriptions of Libya, its people, flora, fauna, climate, geography and episodes in its history as presented by politicians, poets, philosophers, priests, historians and soldiers, both native and foreign.Newly translated and illustrated with a variety of photographs, maps, line drawings and specially commissioned illustrations, with a comprehensive glossary and suggestions for further reading and research, the book is suitable for both the general reader and the specialist.Readers are invited to dip in and enjoy whatever may take their fancy… voyages of exploration, the many uses of silphium, romantic poetry, the horrors of war, the dangers posed by snakes and scorpions, the exploits of kings and emperors, strange native customs, farming the desert and many other topics in both the texts and the illustrations which inform and amuse. Snakes, Sands and Silphium is an excellent introduction to ancient North African, complements any travel guide, and provides context for the archaeologist and historian.

From Tripoli to the ancient ruins of Leptis Magna, from the slave markets to the farthest reaches of the Sahara: here is a mosaic of unknown places, handed down to us by the foreign visitors and travellers who experienced them first hand over four centuries (1550-1911). European consuls (and their sisters and wives), archaeologists, explorers, sailors and colonisers have all left colourful accounts of their Libyan experiences: the bustle of the suqs and gossip of the harem, the terrors of slavery, the endless, parched caravan marches across the desert and the characters they met along the way. Almost fifty contributors bring a fresh perspective to a country that has fascinated foreigners for millenia.

In recent years there has been a renewed interest in the “War in the Desert”, that epic struggle of the Second World War between Axis (Italian and German) and Allied (principally British Commonwealth) forces for control of North Africa, from 1940 to 1943. The current literature concentrates on the military battles, but war cannot be separated from politics: War and Politics sets out to fill this void by chronicling and analyzing the key political debates.For the first time, Kelly describes the political background to the future of the Italian colony of Libya, and the tribes, sects and factions dwelling in Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and the Fezzan, and their fundamental importance in the development of Libya towards independence in 1951. A prologue and an epilogue excellently summarise the preceding and following periods to place the story firmly within its historical context. The extensive bibliography is invaluable for those wishing to further their knowledge. With newly drawn maps taken from WWII sources and many black and white and colour photographs, some not previously published, this is not only a compelling and intellectually stimulating read but also a vivid one.The twists and turns of the politics of the war in the desert in War and Politics will be fascinating not only to the participants at the time but to historians and all readers interested in this period or geographical area.

The Archaeology of Fazzan is a major series of reports on the archaeology and history of Libya’s south-west desert region.This volume contains reports and analysis on a series of excavations carried out between 1958 and 1977 by the British archaeologist Charles Daniels, lavishly illustrated by site plans and numerous colour photographs – particularly of the rich artefact assemblages recovered. The publication will be high profile and a significant landmark in work seeking to record information about Libya’s long-term Saharan heritage. It will be an indispensable reference work to the nature of the Libya’s Saharan archaeology. The work will be of major value to the Libyan antiquities service and contracted archaeologists in concert with foreign oil companies, the NOC and the GMMR, and other similar major schemes.The key element of the story of Fazzan is the existence here of an early Libyan civilisation, the Garamantes, and the publication of the Archaeology of Fazzan volumes is putting in the public domain a rich dossier of information about their antecedents and descendants in this desert environment. This was a singularly important moment in Libya’s cultural history, with resonances also in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is great interest in the published volumes from specialists in Saharan, Sub-Saharan and Mediterranean archaeologists and historians as for the first time we can see in detail the effect of early Trans-Saharan links.

Forty years ago (September 1969) Moammar Gadafi seized power in Libya in a military coup. To mark this event, John Wright has made this selection from his own shorter writings which examine and explain Libya's complex and troubled past - the historical interplay of events, influences and personalities that helped to shape the modern state.From this selection read about...o Why, in about 1860, Britain lost its earlier enthusiasm for Tripoli and the Sahara as a 'Gateway to Africa'o What made the Zionist movement drop plans to settle one million East European Jews in Cyrenaicao Why Mussolini accepted the 'Sword of Islam' in Tripoli in 1937o The first welfare issue to preoccupy the British Eighth Army as it captured Tripoli in January 1943o Why Libya had such an easy passage to independence in 1951o How, as a young leader, Moammar Gadafi was publicly ridiculed and put down by an Arab leader nearly old enough to be his grandfather who claimed Libyans were still living in the days of Adam and Eve.These are just some of the issues John Wright discusses in these 20 chapters, here usefully collected under one cover from the many books and journals in which they first appeared. John Wright, was formerly the chief political commentator and analyst of the BBC Arabic Service, specialising in Libya, the Sahara and the international oil industry.

This is the first in a new series of guides to the archaeology of Libya, from prehistoric times until the invasion of the Bani Hilal in AD 1051. It deals with a region which offers the visitor not only the classical splendours of UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Sabratha and Lepcis Magna, but also a hinterland which is rich in standing monuments of the Punic, Roman and early Islamic periods. All are described and explained in a comprehensive gazetteer, packed full of plans and photographs, and with GPS coordinates and directions for visiting. "THE guidebook to Libya's archaeology" - David Mattingly

In between the search for the Poles, the climbing of Everest and the Space Race, the exploration of the Sahara - a huge swathe of terrain, the size of India - by motor car is one of the untold chapters in the story of twentieth-century exploration. Many people have become fascinated by this area since falling in love with the scenery of 'The English Patient'.

The Archaeology of Fazzan, volume II, Site Gazetteer, Pottery and other Survey Finds, Edited by David J. Mattingly “The Libyan Sahara is one of the richest desert areas for the study of human adaptation to changing environmental and climatic conditions. This is the second volume in a projected series of four reports detailing the combined results of two Anglo-Libyan projects in Fazzan, Libya’s south-west province. The late Charles Daniels led the first expeditions between l958 and l977, with David Mattingly directing the subsequent Fazzan Project from l997-2001. This second volume presents some of the key archaeological discoveries in detail, including a richly illustrated gazetteer of sites discovered and the first attempt at a full-scale pottery type series from the Sahara. In addition, there are separate reports on the programme of radiocarbon dating carried out, on lithics, metallurgical and non-metallurgical industrial residues and various categories of small finds (including coins, metal artefacts, beads, glass and stone artefacts). The later volumes will provide the detailed evidence from the excavations carried out by both projects.

The Sahara is Libya's outstanding landscape feature and is the source of most of its significant natural resources. This desert region is also extraordinarily rich in historical and cultural heritage that is in itself another valuable resource, through exploitation by Libya's tourism industry. This volume draws attention to the link between the benefits that Libya draws from its Saharan resources (oil, gas, water, minerals and tourism) and the need to safeguard and record aspects of its cultural heritage. The book also provides a summary of important developments in Saharan studies and shows how these can contribute to modern planning and development of the desert regions.

Christian Monuments of Cyrenaica publishes archaeological studies undertaken between 1953 and 1971 by the late J. B. Ward-Perkins (d. 1981) and the late R. G. Goodchild (d. 1968). It presents Ward-Perkins accounts (mostly left in advanced draft form) of 44 monuments, 35 of them certainly churches, together with plans of each made by professional architects after survey on the ground, drawings of some details and a considerable number of photographs, together with a draft overview of the buildings techniques used. Colleagues have provided introductory notes on other major features of the buildings and drawn attention to some of the problems that they raise. They have also added a brief account of other Christian buildings reported since Ward-Perkins' last visit to Cyrenaica, both in Cyrenaica itself, the late antique province of Libya Superior, and in that area of the Western Desert which formed the closely-related province of Libya Inferior.The detailed evidence collected here represents a basis for the study of late antique and early Byzantine Cyrenaica of a quality and extent that has never been available before; and is all the more important because time and chance have now damaged some of that evidence. It also gives a quite up-to-date, although very summary account of new evidence awaiting serious study; which, we may hope, will lead to further advances in our understanding of the late antique and early Byzantine periods.

A detailed report, the first in a series of four, of two Anglo-Libyan projects carried out in the Fazzan region of southwest Libya. This volume outlines the history of the area, the work of Charles Daniels in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and the most recent project directed by David Mattingly. The aims of the project are matched by the sections of this report and include syntheses of survey and excavation evidence for the geography, climate, hydrology and environment, as well as archaeological and historical data. Individual chapters also focus on the field-walking carried out from 1997 to 2000, the evidence for fortifications, settlements and domestic architecture, religious and funerary structures, irrigation technologies, rock art and inscriptions, ending with a summary of human activities in Fazzan from the palaeolithic to early modern period.

The Islamic city of Surt was, even at its peak during the middle and second half of the tenth century AD, a modest settlement. It was, however, a prosperous city, a commercial centre. In addition, it was a military staging place for the Fatimid invasion of Egypt. Volume includes an Arabic summary and a foldout plan of the site. Excavations were carried out between 1977 and 1981 which uncovered the heart of the town with its mosque and workshops. In archaeological terms, North Africa in the early medieval period is almost entirely unknown. This excavation report goes some way to shedding light on the subject and so is most welcome. The Islamic city of Surt was, even at its peak during the middle and second half of the tenth century AD, a modest settlement. It was, however, a prosperous city, a commercial centre with several workshops. All these were possible because the town had its own harbour in the nearby lagoon. Life was possible here since the town had water, partly collected in cisterns, partly because it had a few wells. Fruit and vegetable gardens surrounded the town. As a military staging place, it played an eminent role in the Fatimid invasion of Egypt.   The excavations at Surt have greatly enhanced our knowledge of the life, material culture and history of North Africa, particularly during the early Fatimid period. A survey of the site was carried out by Prof. R.C. Goodchild shortly after the Second World War. Excavations were begun by the Department of Antiquities in 1965/66 which traced the city walls and its three gates. Further excavations were carried out under the direction of Geza Fehervari between 1977 and 1981. It is these excavations which this volume reports. They found the heart of the town, the madina. Large numbers of cisterns, a well, cess-pits and numerous bread ovens.   Thousands of glazed and unglazed sherds and several complete unglazed vessels came to light, together with iron, bronze and glass fragments. A large number of iron and glass slag fragments were found, which indicated local manufacture of glass and iron. The plan of the mosque is typical of Fatimid mosques in Ifriqiya and the closest parallels are those of Mahdiya, Zwila and Ajdabiya.   Volume includes and Arabic summary and a foldout plan of the site.

"The desert margins of North Africa are extremely rich in archaeological ruins of the Roman period, evidence of dense settlement 2,000 years ago in what are now arid and hostile environments. Historians, geographers and archaeologists have long debated the significance of these sites, explaining the 'Greening of the Desert' variously in terms of environmental change, colonization, external market forces or combinations of factors. The debate so far has been characterized by the lack of scientific data from any one region concerning, on the one hand, the nature of settlement, society and land-use and, on the other, the contemporary climate and environment; this has made it impossible to compare rigorously the strengths and weaknesses of the alternative theories.The two volumes of Farming the Desert present the results of the alternative approach taken by the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Archaeological Survey: a detailed inter-disciplinary study by archaeologists, geographers and historians of a single region, i.e. the basins of the Wadis Sofeggin and ZemZem in Tripolitania, northwest Libya. The project's methodologies for studying the archaeology of arid-zone agriculture have been recognized internationally, and the results of their application to the study area have transformed our understanding of how the desert margins of North Africa were farmed in antiquity, with important implications for modern agricultural planning.'A particular triumph. It marshals a wide variety of skills and techniques, transforms our understanding of ancient pre-desert farming, and is as vital a contribution to modern needs as it is to scholarship.' (Tim Potter, British Museum)

This is the first report on the finds from K. Kenyon's and J. B. Ward-Perkins' excavations at Sabratha from 1948-1951, and contains full discussion and catalogues. This volume constitutes a landmark in the study of Punic and Roman pottery from Sabratha and Tripolitania, not only covering new dated types but also quantified studies and analysis It will be a lasting reference to the pottry from this area, and invaluable also for what it brings to the historical picture of this city.