The Publication of the First Phase of Archaeological and Environmental Research in Western Sahara

This application is for the production of a co-authored scholarly monograph, and for attendance by the PI at two conferences in order to present results and interpretation of eight years of archaeological and environmental exploration undertaken by the University of East Anglia in the Polisario-controlled areas of Western Sahara. The aim of the Western Sahara Project (WSP) has been to document the changing nature of human occupation and utilisation of an area of the Sahara that remained comparatively well watered throughout prehistory, from the Late Pleistocene into the Late Holocene. Archaeological fieldwork was undertaken in a nine square kilometre region of the Wadi Tifiriti and has documented over 460 funerary and ritual monuments dating from the 5th to the 1st millennia b.p. (the end of the Middle and the Late Holocene) and seven occupation sites, mostly dating to the 9th and 8th millennia b.p.(the Early Holocene). The work around the Wadi Tifariti represents an opportunity to compare the archaeological and environmental records of the far west of the Sahara with records from central and eastern regions at similar latitudes (e.g. Niger, Libya, and Sudan), as well as with trajectories of coastal occupation to the west, and of occupation on the northern Saharan fringes and in the Sahel. Archaeological investigation of the region has been supplemented by a programme of environmental sampling of sediments and tufas. This Project represents the publication of Phase 1 and expeditious publication is crucial for implementing Phase 2, which aims to be a much larger systematic programme of archaeological and environmental study in the region.

We anticipate that the principal direct beneficiary of the publication of Phase 1 of the Western Sahara Project will be the indigenous population of Western Sahara. It has been our aim to systematically map and record the unique funerary landscape of the Wadi Tifariti. The data we have collected has been processed in a format that will contribute to a future Sites and Monuments Record for the Free Zone. Our project is the first major archaeological and environmental project to publish extensively in English. To date, the archaeological research that has been conducted in the Free Zone has been in Spanish and Catalan. Publication in English is crucial as it ensures dissemination of results to a different and potentially wider audience than previously. This benefits not only the Sahrawi by informing the English-speaking world of their history and cultural heritage but it will also inform the English-speaking world of the history, environment and heritage of this remote region of the Sahara.

A second direct beneficiary of the publication of Phase 1 of the Western Sahara Project will be our funders, Ophir Energy, who have maintained a close relationship with the Polisario Independence Movement over many decades. Although energy exploration is not possible in the region at present our work ensures that this culturally sensitive region is systematically mapped and recorded and that any future explorative plans by Ophir include a responsible, sustainable plan for the natural and cultural environment.

A third beneficiary is the UK public. Volunteers play a vital role in the work of the Western Sahara Project, and make a contribution to the funding of the Project. Volunteering for a Western Sahara Project field season is a way of experiencing a unique desert environment and culture in a part of the world which is largely closed to outsiders. Volunteering is also an opportunity to learn about the fascinating and little-known archaeology of this remote region and of the Sahara at large. Many of our volunteers have found a trip to Western Sahara to be a life-changing, and enhancing, experience, and a number have participated in multiple seasons of fieldwork.

Indirect beneficiaries of Phase 1 of the Western Sahara Project include the international development and climate change policy community via archaeological lessons for climate change adaptation (based on active engagement between Nick Brooks with development bodies such as the World Bank, the UNDP and the UK Department for International Development).

In order to ensure dissemination of this research to the widest possible audience the Western Sahara Project will continue to promote and inform the public, professional bodies and the academic community via existing contacts with the broadcast and print media, building on previous media engagement with the research of the co-director, Dr Nick Brooks on climate change and Saharan archaeology. Recent academic work by Nick Brooks has highlighted the importance of studies of past environmental change and human adaptation, drawing lessons from studies of the Middle Holocene desiccation of the Afro-Asiatic desert belt for research and policy on 21st century climate change and adaptation (Brooks 2006, Brooks et al. in press). Through his consultancy work, Nick Brooks has highlighted the importance of developing long-term perspectives on climate change and human adaptation for sustainable development and development planning, with policy-makers in organizations including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the UK Department for International Development. These links provide key opportunities to highlight the real relevance of archaeology to contemporary social, economic and environmental problems, advertise the outputs of this research on its website and through news discussions.