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Race to save African cave paintings; Prehistoric art is in danger of being destroyed by developers a
Posted on January 23, 2011 at 08:15:02 PM by mb5
Race to save African cave paintings; Prehistoric art is in danger of being destroyed by developers and looters, writes Flora Bagenal in Somaliland [Eire Region]
Flora Bagenal. Sunday Times. London (UK): Jan 23, 2011. pg. 21
Abstract (Summary)
The greatest threat is the growing realisation among local people of the value of ancient objects. "Somaliland has been recovering very slowly from its civil war," said [Sada Mire]. "In rural areas people can't afford food, so looting is a big problem." Already a number of tombstones uncovered by her team have been stolen by villagers who sold them to illegal art traders.
In two other sites, near the towns of Borama and Sheikh, the remains of two ancient cities are in danger of being destroyed to make way for a new road. Artefacts from Ming dynasty China and ancient Egypt have been uncovered at both sites, strengthening the theory that the Horn of Africa was an important trade route through which spices, frankincense and myrrh were exported. Historians say Mire's findings had added to their understanding of local communities. "By studying the underground structure of the walls we can tell where these people slept, where they ate and where they carried out ritual worship," Mire said. "But due to the lack of knowledge, developers are allowed to build roads straight through them."
Copyright (c) Times Newspapers Limited 2011
A BRITISH archaeologist whose team has discovered a spectacular array of prehistoric cave paintings in Somaliland, in the Gulf of Aden, has warned they are in danger of being destroyed.
The paintings, thought to be between 3,000 and 5,000 years old, depict male hunters and female dancers surrounded by animals ranging from turtles to giraffes and elephants.
The works are among about 100 ancient sites uncovered by the team led by Sada Mire, 34, a Somali-born archaeologist working with University College London. She has launched a campaign to secure world heritage status for the sites to protect them from thieves and developers. "There are no laws to protect monuments and landscape in Somaliland and very little appreciation of the value these places hold," said Mire, who is drafting her own law with the help of international experts and plans to present it to the government.
Somaliland is a former British colony that has been fighting for autonomy from the rest of Somalia since civil war broke out 20 years ago.
Its democratically-elected government has increasingly independent relations with other nations, including France and America, which are keen to promote stability in the troubled region. But despite maintaining a measure of peace, government institutions are chaotic.
Mire, whose father, a critic of the Somali government, was assassinated in 1989, has dedicated her life to preserving the newly-discovered art. When her father died she lived for a year as a refugee in the remote desert areas which she is now helping to excavate.
Later, she moved to Sweden and then to Britain, where she studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. She returned to Somaliland to study its ancient heritage for her PhD thesis.
Until recently, the caves remained hidden from all but local herdsmen who used them to shelter their animals but who were reluctant to get too close to the paintings, fearing they were the work of evil spirits.
"When I was a child I was told these pictures were the work of Satan. If I had to come near them, I'd bring a spear," said Dahud Abdilahi, a herdsman paid to guard the entrance of the Laas Geel caves, the most detailed and elaborate rock art site in Somaliland.
The paintings were found in 10 caves high above a barren, rocky plain. Some of the pictures have faded while others remain vividly colourful, covering huge sections of the cave ceilings and walls. In some pictures the animals are decorated, suggesting they may have been worshipped. It is thought that the depiction of men on horseback could be one of the earliest of mounted hunters.
At present, visitors are able to clamber through the caves, with nothing to stop them touching the drawings or taking pieces away.
"This is where some French archeologists chipped off some of the painting and took it for testing," said Abdilahi, looking at a mutilated picture of two cows with decorated horns. He said they had never come back with any results.
The greatest threat is the growing realisation among local people of the value of ancient objects. "Somaliland has been recovering very slowly from its civil war," said Mire. "In rural areas people can't afford food, so looting is a big problem." Already a number of tombstones uncovered by her team have been stolen by villagers who sold them to illegal art traders.
Some of the stones were recovered after the team explained their importance to community elders but the incident has highlighted the urgent need for protection.
In two other sites, near the towns of Borama and Sheikh, the remains of two ancient cities are in danger of being destroyed to make way for a new road. Artefacts from Ming dynasty China and ancient Egypt have been uncovered at both sites, strengthening the theory that the Horn of Africa was an important trade route through which spices, frankincense and myrrh were exported. Historians say Mire's findings had added to their understanding of local communities. "By studying the underground structure of the walls we can tell where these people slept, where they ate and where they carried out ritual worship," Mire said. "But due to the lack of knowledge, developers are allowed to build roads straight through them."
The law she is drafting should be passed by the autumn with the aim of halting further developments.
'' PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD FOOD, SO LOOTING IS A BIG PROBLEM
SOMALIA Borama Sheikh Laas Geel SOMALIA SOMALILAND Gulf of Aden YEMEN ETHIOPIA 100 miles
Credit: Flora Bagenal
[Illustration]
Caption: Sada Mire lived as a refugee in the area now being excavated; Until recently the cave art was known only to herdsmen, who feared they were the work of evil spirits; LIBA TAYLOR
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