Dancing girls and insect-headed gods: results of the rock art recording project in the Wadi al-Hayat, Fazzan, 2006

Abstract

AbstractThe 2006 rock art survey continued the systematic identification and recording of rock art panels in the Wadi al-Hayat, started in 2004–5. Over 350 carved panels, comprising well over 1000 engraved images, were recorded and added to the digital database for the project. Anecdotal accounts of rock paintings were also followed up, and some meaningful observations were made.As the concentration of known carvings in the wadi grows, trends in their content and distribution begin to demonstrate some interesting patterns. Detailed analysis of the distribution patterns is currently hampered by an unreliable chronological sequence, and discoveries this season have cast doubt on the validity of the established sequence for this area, with wider implications for Saharan rock art.