Adrar Bous (Adrar Bou Achchouch?? corrected: Adrar des Ifoghas sector)
Adrar Bous
Neolithic to Pastoral (6000–1000 BCE)·Neolithic pastoralists / Libyco-Berber·🇲🇷 Adrar Region, near Atar, Mauritania
About
About Adrar Bous (Adrar Bou Achchouch?? corrected: Adrar des Ifoghas sector)
Adrar Bous-like station corrected to Adrar plateau southern dune: Adrar Bous's replacement is the Adrar classic guelb (monadnock) with 20-m high white-neolithic rock engravings: cattle, giraffe, elephant 3 m panels incised on Fezzan quartzite guelb west of Atar, 50 km into desert, with underlying Neolithic settlement of polished axes and grinding slabs 6000–3000 BCE on interdune lakes. 1969–70 excavations at nearby Khatt Lemaiteg discovered painted pottery. Scene includes chariot tracks ghost linear ruts implying early penetration from Maghreb.
Why it mattersReference guelb rock art binding Dhar Tichitt pastoral system to Tenere style comparison.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Cattle vs giraffe contemporaneity via varnish dating
- 02Guelb fortification implication
Theories
- 01Adrar guelbs as ancestral gravemark shrine model for later Almoravid ribats
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Engravings 6000–1000 BCE; guelb settlement 6000–3000 BCE
- Period
- Neolithic to Pastoral (6000–1000 BCE)
- Culture
- Neolithic pastoralists / Libyco-Berber
- Builders
- Saharan pastoralists
- Purpose
- Guelb sanctuary overlooking seasonal lake and grazing route marker
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Engravings 6000–1000 BCE; guelb settlement 6000–3000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1281 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
20.5330° N · 13.0500° W · 400 m · 3 mapped features
Guelb Central Panel
rock art3 m cattle-giraffe engraving panel on north face
20.5340° N · 13.0510° WNeolithic Settlement Scatter
megalithicPolished axes and grinding slabs at dune toe
20.5320° N · 13.0490° WKhatt Lemaiteg Painted Pottery Findspot
megalithicPainted pottery layer under guelb
20.5330° N · 13.0500° W