Data di Pubblicazione:
2013
Citazione:
Fewet: an oasis at the margin of wadi Tanezzuft (central Sahara) / M. Cremaschi, A. Zerboni - In: Life and death of a rural village in Garamantian Times. Archaeological investigations in the Fewet oasis (Libyan Sahara). / [a cura di] L. Mori. - Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs. - Firenze : All'Insegna del Giglio, 2013. - ISBN 978-88-7814-594-8. - pp. 7-15
Abstract:
The palaeoenvironmental and geoarchaeological setting of the oasis of Fewet
(SW Libya, Central Sahara) is discussed in the frame of the regional and local climate
changes that occurred since the late Holocene. The oasis of Fewet originated after the
dramatic reduction in size of the palaeo-oasis of Wadi Tanezzuft following the drop of
monsoonal precipitation in the Sahara since the 4th millennium BP. A compared analysis
of several palaeohydrological archives indicates that the wide green valley of Wadi Tanezzuft
changed into an assemblage of small-sized oases, which represented econiches
where Garamantian exploitation of natural resources was guaranteed by residual water
availability feeding shallow wells. The Garamantian settlement within the oasis of Fewet
was established in the late 3rd millennium BP, when its area was larger than today, whereas
it was abandoned around 2000 years BP. The dendroclimatic record of the Tassili
cypress reveals that these events correspond to a phase of relatively high precipitations
(origin and development of the settlement), followed by a progressive reduction in water
availability, which announced the dry climatic event that contributed to the collapse of
the Garamantian kingdom. Finally, the most recent evolution of the oases of Fewet, Ghat
and Barkat is discussed on the basis of fi eld and remote sensing evidence and documentary
records.
Tipologia IRIS:
03 - Contributo in volume
Keywords:
Oasis; water resources; climate change; Central Sahara; geoarchaeology
Elenco autori:
M. Cremaschi, A. Zerboni
Link alla scheda completa:
Titolo del libro:
Life and death of a rural village in Garamantian Times. Archaeological investigations in the Fewet oasis (Libyan Sahara).