ASArt-DATA · Ancient Saharan Art – Decoding Art through Theoretically-sounded Archive

Ancient Saharan Art – Decoding Art through Theoretically-sounded Archive

ASArt-DATA addressed the study of Saharan rock art that represents one of the most challenging topics of the archaeological and anthropological investigation of the region. Rock art is one of humankind's most fascinating and widespread cultural manifestations: it offers a unique and significant visual archive into the social and symbolic worlds of past human societies. The complexity of recordind and publication and the difficulty of dating have hampered its immense potential as an archaeological source. The lack of a theoretically sound interpretive perspective linking local peculiarities with general overviews has reduced its powerful capacity of transmitting human thoughts and emotions. This is particularly true for the region of the present Sahara Desert, where outstanding paintings and engravings suffer natural and anthropogenic threats. Thanks to the collaboration of the Department of Ancient World Studies of the Sapienza University of Rome and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the support of International Institutions, such as the Libyan Department of Archaeology in Tripoli, the International Center for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), and private archives (Anne-Michelle & Axel Van Albada Archive, Donatella Calati & Aldo Boccazzi Archive, and Adriana Ravenna & Sergio Scarpa Falce Archive), the Project set a new standard for an integrated study of this fragile heritage. ASArt-DATA actions developed on specific objectives with an archaeological research question, a targeted theoretical focus on the role of rock art in archaeological and anthropological research, and a particular focus on raising awareness of the preservation, promotion, and transmission of rock art heritage as a meaningful transcultural agent. The publication of the full catalogue of the Tadrart Acacus rock art sites as an edited volume and an open-access Atlas customized for scientific research, cultural resources management, dissemination, and communication represents the cornerstone of the Project. It mainly relies on the data coming from the archive of the Archaeological Mission in the Sahara of Sapienza University of Rome, and other sets of data kindly shared by the mentioned private archives. The specific archaeological research question addressed the analysis of the rock art produced by Saharan pastoral Neolithic communities living in the Tadrart Acacus between 6300 and 2700 BCE, with a primary focus on the Tadrart Acacus and Messak rock art sites, located in south-western Libya area between the late seventh and the first millennium BCE.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union