Book contents
- Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond
- The Trans-saharan Archaeology Series
- Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Oasis Origins in the Sahara: A Region-by-Region Survey
- 2 Garamantian Oasis Settlements in Fazzan
- 3 Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the Eastern Sahara
- 4 The Urbanisation of Egypt’s Western Desert under Roman Rule
- 5 Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the Northern Sahara
- 6 Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the North-Western Sahara
- 7 Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the Southern Sahara
- 8 Discussion
- Part III Neighbours and Comparanda
- Part IV Concluding Discussion
- Index
- References
5 - Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the Northern Sahara
from Part II - Oasis Origins in the Sahara: A Region-by-Region Survey
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 March 2020
- Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond
- The Trans-saharan Archaeology Series
- Urbanisation and State Formation in the Ancient Sahara and Beyond
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Oasis Origins in the Sahara: A Region-by-Region Survey
- 2 Garamantian Oasis Settlements in Fazzan
- 3 Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the Eastern Sahara
- 4 The Urbanisation of Egypt’s Western Desert under Roman Rule
- 5 Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the Northern Sahara
- 6 Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the North-Western Sahara
- 7 Pre-Islamic Oasis Settlements in the Southern Sahara
- 8 Discussion
- Part III Neighbours and Comparanda
- Part IV Concluding Discussion
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter focuses on the oases of the northern Sahara, both those close to and in some cases incorporated within the frontiers of the Roman provinces of Africa. With the exception of some outstanding contributions from our co-author Pol Trousset, there has been little consideration of the potential scale or on the ground reality of oasis development in the Roman frontier region. This is only partly explicable in terms of the lack of detailed archaeological work at these sites – as we shall demonstrate there is quite a lot of fragmentary evidence to support the case for widespread oasis development in pre-Islamic times. In large measure the lack of recognition of the importance of oases here relates to the long-prevailing myth that Rome was confronted in this frontier zone by nomadic (or at best transhumant) peoples. It is hoped that what follows will provoke a full re-evaluation of Rome’s African frontiers and what they were designed to deal with.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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