FOUR-HORSE CARTS
Why were they called Garamantes?
This Greek denomination comes,
supposedly, from Garama, currently Germa (or Jarmah), a location
to the southwest of Libya, in the
province of Fezzan, just a few kilometers away from the border with
Algeria, where the first sites associated with the civilization were
dug – research which coincided
with the Italian occupation during the 1930’s. Soon, the transalpine archeologists would notice the
unusual importance of their discoveries. Coinciding with a particularly
adverse period in the weather of
the area, the Garamantes decided
to establish sedentary settlements
where they developed complex
farming and mercantile structures;
profess peculiar cults and traditions
- such as mummification (see box)
- and set their architectonic and
painting likes free, which we know
due to the abundant petroglyphs
which pepper the mountain and
caves off this area. The content
of these paintings - very similar to
the neighboring one in Tasili n’Ajjer
in Argelia, incidentally - seems to
partially corroborate some of the
11
Rock paintings in Tadrart
Acacus region of Libya dated
from 12,000 BC to 100 AD.
There are paintings and carvings of animals such as giraffes
and elephants reflecting the
dramatic climatic changes in
the area.