1. Tadrārt Akākūs : A UNESCO World Heritage Site :
A victim of neglect, vandalism and indifference
By Mustafa J. Salem Oct…. 2013
Figure 1: One of the vandalized sites in the TadrartAkakus heritagearea. The black spray paint was
applied in a deliberate effort to deface the art. As the paintings are easily damaged it will be almost
impossible to remove this paint without destroying the original centuries-old rock painting ( photo;
Temehu).
Located in the Sahara Desert in the Ghat district of southwest Fazzan, Libya, Tadrārt
Akākūs is one of the most famous rock art areas in the Sahara. This beautiful area
which, besides its extraordinary natural beauty, is very rich in prehistoric paintings
and engravings was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 (Figures
2, 3 and 4).
A succession of rock art, including cave paintings and carvings of various styles are
scattered throughout the valleys.
In some of the desert heritage areas (including Tadrart Akakus), it was possible for
experts to distinguish various periods, corresponding to successive climatic phases
which brought about changes in the flora and fauna and, thus, in the ways of life of
the local populations. These variations are characterized by particular artistic styles
which were classified by archaeologists so as to help relate these paintings and
engravings to a particular time and environment as well as to the social life of the
inhabitants in each period.

2. The oldest images in the Akakus area belong to the Wild Fauna Period. These images
were created when the Sahara was covered by savannah and elephants, rhinoceros and
giraffes were found in the plains along with many other wild animals. Images of these
wild animals were carved on the scarp faces in this area.This period was followed by
paintings and engravings which include various human figures and is known as the
Round Heads Period. The Pastoral Period followed, during which the climate of the
Sahara became more arid. Depictions of domesticated cattle and social festivities
with human figures dominate this period (Figure3) which was followed by the Horse
Period that refers to paintings mostly depicting horses and chariots (Figure 4).
The final period is the Camel Period which dates from about 200 BC to the present,
during which the Sahara finally became the arid desert that it is today (Figure 7). In
this period the Tuareg and Garamantes people adopted this earlier tradition of
paintings and engravings and created their own images.
Figure 2: Tadrart Akakus with the famous Wadi Tashwaynet in the south (one of the main wadis with
several sites rich in rock art). The mountains alone provide beautiful landscapes and add to the
numerous sites of interesting art works including paintings and rock engravings.
Introduction of the extensive prehistoric rock art in this important area to the general
public as well as to the scientific community worldwide is credited to the Italo-Libyan
archaeological missions, which have run continuously from 1955 in TadrartAkakus
under the guidance of Prof. Fabrizio Mori and Paolo Graziosi. Through the years,

3. Prof. Mori and his associates (University of Sapienza, Rome) have collected, analyzed
and published alarge amount of scientific information.
Topographically, the Akākūs Mountains have widely varied landscapes formed
mainly of hard sandstone beds that date back to the Palaeozoic Era. The weathering
and erosion of these clastic beds have resulted in a variety of terrains and features.
These include deep wadis, natural arches, caves, gorges, isolated hills, and towers
emerging from the sand and eroded into the most bizarre shapes. These landscapes
have enabled the inhabitants throughout history to live in shelters and caves, most of
which have paintings of various types and sizes. The mountainous ridges are also
separated by sand dunes, wadi deposits and some Hamada plains (Figures 2, 5 and 6).
Figure 3: One of the many beautiful and detailed paintings in the Tadrart Akakus World Heritage
area. A cattle herd and a herder are detailed in the painting. Prof. F. Mori has stated that Tadrart
Akakus undoubtedly represents the main centre for the prehistory of Libya.

4. Figure 4: The top image shows dogs hunting Barbary sheep (Waddan) (Wadi Taschwaynet). The artist
used more than one colour for the painting. The lower image depicts a chariot and horses. Both these
images belong to the Horse Period ( photo, M. J. Salem).
Current Concerns
Unfortunately, this beautiful and most important World Heritage area was recently
vandalized, and the resulting damage is yet to be rectified but it may be so bad that it
is beyond restoration.
It was in April 2009, when several rock art sites in two of the main wadis in the
famous Tadrart Akakus, including some of the most well-known and highly
acclaimed images, were vandalized through the application of spray paint. As there
were no guards or security personnel in the area, the attacker took his time to commit
his crimes and left without being caught.

5. The episode began when an employee of a tour operating company was sacked and
sought revenge. He travelled to the Akakus Mountains, where thousands of paintings
and engravings are scattered in shelters and on ledge faces. He sprayed several sites
with black and silver nitro paint before heading back home. Though he was captured
at a later time the damage he inflicted remains and in many instances is beyond
restoration.
Ten months later (February 2010) the authorities submitted a written report on the
vandalism and the damage caused by it to UNESCO. The report summarized the
damage by saying: "Seven distinct sites are known to have suffered ‘very high to high’
levels of physical damage with black and silver nitro paint sprayed onto the images,
either entirely covering them or partially covering them with graffiti. In some cases,
such as at the Ti-n-Asching II site (among the best known in Saharan rock art in the
Horse/Bi-triangular style), the nitro spray paint completely covers all the rock art
scenes".
The report concluded by urging the Department of Antiquity, in collaboration with
UNESCO and the University of Sapienza (Rome) to undertake a detailed assessment,
so as to specify those sites that might be capable of restoration.
It was also emphasized that the mission must stipulate the future protection of Tadrart
Akakus. Since it is a very extensive area, it was recommended that collaboration with
the local communities should be seriously considered. Tourist operators should also
be made aware of the sensitivity of the area and the global significance of its contents,
and an effective system of issuing tightly controlled permits regulating visits to the
area must be established.
An official visit to the area was conducted almost a year later (in January 2011), just
before the revolution in Libya.
As part of this official visit ten of the vandalized sites were surveyed and their
condition and physical context systematically recorded and analyzed. For each site,
information was obtained on the morphology, conditions of the site, size, dating
indicators, iconographic symbols displayed, nature of rock support, painting methods
and materials, engraving methods and technologies, any alterations to the art itself or
to the rock surfaces to which it is applied, as well as damage related to the recent
vandalism. The site-specific analysis highlighted certain key observations:
 Damage to the ten studied sites is considerable,along with other damage resulting
from natural deterioration of the artwork due to time (some paintings are 10,000
years old).
 Due to variability in substrate conditions, artwork materials and remedial
technologies to be used, it is suggested that efforts to test cleaning agents on the
vandalized sites will need to be adjusted to suit the particular conditions of each
site, and each site element.
 Any conservation strategy for the artwork should be applied to all significant
artwork not only to the artwork damaged by vandalism.

6. The mission report proposes detailed methodologies for conservation-restoration
interventions on the paintings and engravings, and for cleaning and restoring the
vandalized sites.
Figure 5: A beautiful landscape within the area of Tadrart Akakus. This luxury camp was erected
within the Akakus World Heritage territory and was built and operated by a foreign tour company. For
several years (till the camp was moved to the other side of the mountains) accommodation in it was
limited to the clients of that company. Not only was the camp erected on Heritage land and made off-
limits to the general public, but sadly, a lot of prehistoric lithics were also collected from the
neighboring area and sold to the tourists as souvenirs, and some were even used to decorate the
exclusive camp. No one has yet been penalized for this abuse of a UNESCO World Heritage site
(Photo, M. J. Salem).
Figure 6 : Another tourist camp within the Tadrart Akakus area (on the eastern edge). This landscape,
although less spectacular than that of the previous camp area, is still very attractive with sand dunes
and sandstone hills surrounding the camp ( Photo courtesy of ESSL).
What next?
From the mission report summarized above, and the sequence of events regarding the
status of Tadrart Akakus (this example also applies to other heritage areas in Libya) it
was very clear that the area was neither adequately protected nor properly managed.
The report calls for the authorities to make their presence felt, for staff to be well

7. trained and to build the capacity to man and direct the large area of the Tadrart
Akakus.
With the formation of the 'Ministry of Culture', it is essential that this new ministry
place the preservation of Tadrart Akakus, Messak and the remaining Desert Heritage
sites at the top of its list of priorities. Restoration, and preservation of the desert
heritage is already long overdue. These areas will need a massive effort, time and
resources in order to halt, at least for the time being, the deterioration of these national
heritage areas which is important not only to Libyans but to the whole of Humanity at
large as is recognized by UNESCO.
With desert tourism currently halted it provides a wonderful opportunity for the
Ministries of Tourism and Culture to collaborate and coordinate efforts to establish as
a matter of urgency a ‘National Heritage Protection Master Plan' with the main
objective of preserving all the national heritage areas, starting with those desert areas
that are the most impacted. The oil companies operating in the area should also play
an important role in implementing this National Heritage Protection Master Plan.
Since these oil companies are at least partly responsible for some of the detrimental
impacts on these heritage sites, it is in their interests to help sustain these areas in
which they have been working for the past several years and will continue to do so for
years to come.
Meanwhile, the help and cooperation which is always offered by international
organizations, scientific institutions and individual scientists should be utilized and
used efficiently by the relevant authorities in Libya, especially the Ministry of Culture
(including the Antiquity Department) and the Ministry of Tourism (Figures 5, 6 and
7).
Local communities will be eager to play a role in these operations as they are aware of
the importance of these areas and their heritage not only to their local community but
to the country as a whole.
Until the authorities act and begin the actual restoration and preservation however, the
deterioration of this priceless heritage will continue, and this will render restoration
efforts even more difficult.

8. Figure 7: This was once a painting of a camel dating back to the Camel Period. The paint has covered
most of the image so that it will be impossible to restore it to its former condition (Photo; Temehu).
Figure 8: A completely vandalized site with several paintings which go back thousands of years in
history. The vandal was determined to totally destroy this large site and he had all the time he needed
to do so without being caught ( photo; Temehu).