Haua Fteah Cave
Hwaa Fteah · Great Cave · Hagfet et-Tera
Middle Stone Age to Neolithic (200,000–6,000 BP)·Homo sapiens MS A/MSA/LSA; Oranian Dabban Capsian·🇱🇾 Al Jabal al Akhdar, Libya
About
About Haua Fteah Cave
Haua Fteah is a 50-m-wide by 20-m-high karst cave at foot of Jebel Akhdar escarpment, Cyrenaica's deep 14-m stratified sequence 200,000–10,000 BP, spanning Middle Stone Age Upper Palaeolithic Neolithic. Excavated McBurney 1951–55 and Barker 2007–15 with OSL dating. Oranian and Dabban industries type-site, Neolithic herding introduction, human molar 73–65 ka associated with early modern humans. Par excellence Levantine–African corridor. UNESCO tentative 2020.
Why it mattersLongest continuous North African modern-human sequence; Dabban–Oranian industries reference.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01150–80 ka hiatus cause (aridity vs sea level)
- 02Neolithic transition 7 ka vs Capsian
Theories
- 01Jebel Akhdar refugium during hyper-aridity (Barker)
- 02Coastal corridor Levant connection (Klein)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Natural karst cavity; occupation from MIS 6
- Period
- Middle Stone Age to Neolithic (200,000–6,000 BP)
- Culture
- Homo sapiens MS A/MSA/LSA; Oranian Dabban Capsian
- Builders
- Early modern humans
- Purpose
- Long-term cave shelter and hunting–gathering base on coastal plain
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
200,000 BP
Earliest MSA occupation (MIS 7)
73–65 ka
Human molar + Dabban blades
10,000–6,000 BP
Capsian and Neolithic herding
1951–55
McBurney excavations; 2007 Barker restart
On the ground
Structures & features
32.9025° N · 22.0510° E · 210 m · 2 mapped features
McBurney's Deep Trench
trench14 m stratigraphic trench 1950s
32.9026° N · 22.0512° EBarker Middle Trench
trenchOSL-dated MSA layers 80–65 ka
32.9024° N · 22.0508° E