A road less travelled? The Society for Libyan Studies and the landscape archaeology of Libya's early civilisations

Abstract

AbstractThis contribution explores a key dimension of the work of the Society for Libyan Studies concerning the archaeology of Libya's Protohistoric and early historic periods (broadly first millennium BC and first millennium AD). This primarily concerns the archaeology of rural landscapes (including the desert) and the investigation of the ancient Libyan populations that inhabited them. Taking an autobiographical approach, I review the contributions to developing research agendas made by a number of research projects that I have been involved in. The results collectively have advanced knowledge and understanding not only of this aspect of ancient Libyan society, but also have important implications for the construction of Libyan identity and the management of its heritage today. More broadly, they constitute an important contribution to wider re-evaluation of Maghribian and Saharan societies in the Iron Age and Roman periods.