From Lake to Sand. The Archaeology of Farafra Oasis Western desert, Egypt - Barbara E. Barich (edited by), Giulio Lucarini (edited by), Mohamed A. Hamdan and Fekri A. Hassan (edited by)

The volume presents all the data collected during the cycle of research conducted by the Italian Archaeological Mission in the Farafra Oasis between 1990 and 2005. The 29 multidisciplinary essays contained in this book provide a detailed picture of the population of the Farafra Oasis, hitherto one of the least well known within the Western Desert. Farafra became particularly important during the middle Holocene, the period when climate conditions were most favourable, with later brief humid episodes even in the historic periods. The results of the long-term research cycle presented here, combined with data from the survey of the whole Wadi el Obeiyid still in progress, allow the authors to identify changes in the peopling of the oasis and to define various occupation phases. The new chronology for the Wadi el Obeiyid is one of the main achievements of the book and, as demonstrated in the final chapter, is in complete agreement with the main cultural units of other territories in the Western Desert. On this chronological basis, the contacts between the latter and the populations established on the Nile are brought into sharper focus. The importance of the archaeological documents discovered at Farafra and, at the same time their fragility due to the deterioration of the physical environment and the uncontrolled human activities, make us fear for their conservation. We hope that this book, with its complete documentation of the precious nature of the Farafra Oasis landscape and its archaeological heritage, may help to promote more effective policies for its safeguard.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
Foreword
Editorial note and Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION
1. Farafra Oasis and the Archaeological Project, Barbara E. Barich
1. The land and the people; 2. The Archaeological Project; 3. Safeguarding the oasis: site preservation and protection; 4. Conclusions

I – ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK
2. Hints at Middle Stone Age occupation in the Farafra Oasis, Philip Van Peer
1. Introduction; 2. The site near the Mission’s Camp in Hidden Valley; 3. The Hidden Valley Plateau Area; 4. The Sheikh el Obeiyid area; 5. The Ain Dalla road; 6. Conclusion; Addendum by B.E. Barich

3. Early to mid Holocene archaeology of the Egyptian Western Desert, Barbara E. Barich
3. Resuming land occupation in the early Holocene; 2. Early Holocene archaeology at Farafra: the sites of Ain e-Raml and Abu Kasseb; 3. The transition towards the mid Holocene at Nabta; 4. Occupation sites in the Dakhla oasis; 5 Conclusion

4. An oasis through time: integrating historical and archaeological sources on Farafra Oasis since
Pharaonic period to the present, Mario Cappozzo, Augusto Palombini
1. From the origins to the New Kingdom; 2. The Ptolemaic and Late Period; 3. From the Middle Ages to the present

II – BEDROCK GEOLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY
5. Desert and oasis: geomorphology and geomorphic evolution, Fekri A. Hassan, Mohamed A. Hamdan, Abdelmoneim A. Mahmoud
1. Origins of the Farafra depression; 2. Bedrock geology; 3. Aeolian landforms; 4. Playa sediments; 5. Conclusion: depositional history and palaeoclimate

III – THE WADI EL OBEIYID PLAYA: EL-BAHR
6. Sedimentological characteristics and geomorphic evolution of the Holocene playa
of Wadi el Obeiyid, Mohamed A. Hamdan
1. Introduction; 2. Stratigraphy and sedimentological characteristics; 3. Early and middle Holocene palaeoenvironmental, and palaeoclimatic implications; 4. Late Holocene geomorphic evolution of Wadi el Obeiyid playa

7. The El-Bahr/Wadi el Obeiyid playa: its general setting and the main archaeological features . 101
Barbara E. Barich
1. Introduction; 2. Topography and archaeological features; 3. The mid Holocene horizon: the main occupation phase; 4. Excavation at the BH-90-5C sheltered site: the late occupation phase; 5. Main typological and technological characteristics; 6. El-Bahr/El Obeiyid playa: climatic phases, chronology and comparisons

8. Workshop activities: Site El-Bahr 2A, Barbara E. Barich
1. Introduction; 2. The site; 3. The lithic assemblage; 4. Discussion

9. Fieldwork in recent decades in the El-Bahr basin: hearths and human occupation, Marina Gallinaro
1. Introduction; 2. The Steinplätze; 3. Excavated structures; 4. Spatial analyses

IV – HIDDEN VALLEY IN THE WADI EL OBEIYID
10. Geology of the Holocene playa sediments of Hidden Valley, Wadi el Obeiyid, Farafra, Mohamed A. Hamdan
1. Introduction; 2. Methods of study; 3. Bedrock geology and geomorphology; 4. Lithostratigraphy; 5. Sedimentology of the Holocene sediments; 6. Depositional environment; 7. Geological evolution of the Hidden Valley playa; 8. Conclusion

11/1. Hidden Valley: a 7000 year-old village in Wadi el Obeiyid, Barbara E.Barich
1. Introduction – The archaeological investigation; 2. Stratigraphy and features; 3. The Hidden Valley village: phases of occupation and contextual analysis

11/2. The excavated artefacts from Hidden Valley village: 1990-2001, Barbara E. Barich
1. Introduction; 2. Surface; 3. Layer I; 4. Layer II; 5. Layer IIA; 6. Layer III; 7. Layer IIIA; 8. Technological features: an overview from the examined sectors

11/3. The excavated artefacts from sectors B/4, D/2, E/1 at Hidden Valley (2003 and 2005 field seasons), Giulio Lucarini
1. Introduction; 2. Surface; 3. Layer I; 4. Layer II; 5. Layer IIA; 6. Layer III; 7. Techno-typological and functional considerations

11/4. The bifacial products from Hidden Valley and neighbouring areas in Wadi el Obeiyid, Giulio Lucarini
1. The study area; 2. The bifacial collections; 3. The bifacial tradition of the Wadi el Obeiyid region

11/5. Large stone tools from the Hidden Valley village and basin, Giulio Lucarini
1. Introduction: materials and research methodology; 2. Technology and raw material; 3. The Hidden Valley village assemblage; 4. The assemblage from the Hidden Valley basin

11/6. Ostrich eggshell products from Hidden Valley village, Farafra Oasis – Contributions from technological analysis, Emanuela Cristiani
1. The archaeological context; 2. Methodology and materials analysed

11/7. Hearths of the Hidden Valley area, Farafra Oasis, Marina Gallinaro
1. Introduction; 2. Hearths in the main Hidden Valley area; 3. Hidden Valley 2; 4. Discussion

11/8. Technological and functional approach to the bone artefacts from Hidden Valley village, Farafra Oasis, Giacoma Petrullo
1. Introduction; 2. Methodology; 3. Analysis of the archaeological artefacts; 4. Conclusion

11/9. The Hidden Valley technological complex – An overview, Barbara E. Barich, Giulio Lucarini
1. Flaked stone production; 2. Ground stone tools,
3. Ostrich eggshell production; 4. Bone artefacts; 5. Discussion: main points of comparison outside the Farafra depression

V – FOOD RESOURCES AT HIDDEN VALLEY
12. Plant food resources at Hidden Valley, Farafra Oasis, Ahmed G. Fahmy
1. Introduction; 2. Materials and methods; 3. Results; 4. Morphology of plant macro-remains; 5. Synthesis; 6. Discussion and conclusion

13. Exploitation and management of wild grasses at Hidden Valley, Farafra Oasis, Giulio Lucarini
1. Introduction; 2. Quantitative correlations between plant macro-remains and archaeological contexts; 3. Techniques for harvesting wild and domesticated Sorghum: an experimental programme; 4. Study of harvesting techniques at Hidden Valley through experimental archaeology and functional
analysis; 5. Study of the archaeological sample collected at Hidden Valley; 6. Discussion: stone tools associated with harvesting activities in Hidden Valley; 7. The use of sickles and other plant working tools in the Egyptian Western Desert and the Nile Valley

14. Animal remains from the Hidden Valley Neolithic site, Farafra Oasis, Achiel Gautier
1. Introduction; 2. The animal groups encountered; 3. Fossil traces; 4. Taphonomic groups; 5. Palaeoeconomy and palaeoenvironment; 6. Neolithic sheep and goat in the Western Desert; 7. Conclusion

VI – THE WADI EL OBEIYID CAVE 1 (FARAFRA CAVE)
15. The Wadi el Obeiyid Cave 1 – Geological features, Mohamed A. Hamdan, Fekri A. Hassan, Abdelmoneim A. Mahmoud
1. Introduction; 2. Cavern morphometry; 3. Cavern sediments; 4. Cave 1 speleothems dating and their palaeoclimatic implications; 5. Conclusion

16. The Wadi el Obeiyid Cave 1: the rock art archive, Barbara E. Barich
1. Introduction; 2. Structural features; 3. Wind-blown sand deposit; 4. Rock art works; 5. Conclusion

Appendix I. The Boats Arch: a new rock art site in Wadi el Obeiyid, Giulio Lucarini, Emanuele Mariotti

Appendix II. Vertebrate remains from Wadi el Obeiyid Cave 1, Farafra Oasis, Kazimierz Kowalski †, Zbigniew M. Bochen´ ski, Barbara Rzebik-Kowalska, Zbigniew Szyndlar
1. Introduction, 2. The sample, 3. Remarks on vertebrates taxa, 4. General remarks

Appendix III. Pollen analysis on samples from Wadi el Obeiyid Cave 1, Erhard Schulz

VII – ARCHAEOMETRY AND ANTHRACOLOGY
17. Radiocarbon datings from Farafra Oasis – Analysis and calibration, Giorgio Belluomini, Luigia Manfra

18. Source of the prehistoric lithic artefacts and grindstones of Wadi el Obeiyid:
petrographical and geochemical approachm, Mohamed A. Hamdan, Giuseppina Mutri, Donatella Barca, Nahla A. Shallaly
1. Introduction; 2. Methodology; 3. Raw material geologic setting; 4. Petrography of raw materials; 5. Chemical composition of the geological and archaeological materials; 6. Provenance of the archaeological materials; 7. Conclusions;

19. Archaeological and archaeometric data on the Farafra pottery, Italo M. Muntoni, Maria Carmela Gatto
1. Introduction; 2. Material and descriptive method; 3. The Hidden Valley sample: geological description and sedimentary clay deposits; 4. Analytical methods; 5. The pottery and its archaeological context; 6. Mineralogical and chemical analyses; 7. Archaeometric results; 8. Discussion and conclusions

20. The Hidden Valley, Farafra Oasis: an anthracological study, Michela Cottini, Lanfredo Castelletti
1. Introduction; 2. Methodology; 3. Results; 4. Identification and discussion of Tamarix and Acacia genera; 5. Conclusions

CONCLUSION
21. Social dynamics in northern Farafra from the middle to late Holocene: changing life under uncertainty, Barbara E. Barich, Giulio Lucarini
1. Palaeoclimate and human occupation; 2. The middle-late Holocene sequence of the Wadi el Obeiyid; 3. Movements and exchanges – Farafra in the context of the Western Desert of Egypt

REFERENCES