Wild life in Africa
EgyptFamous sites in Africa:
Famous monuments in Egypt:
Abu Simbel (The Great Temple of Rameses II)
Luxor East Bank (Luxor Temple)
Luxor East Bank, Amun Temple (Karnak temple)
Famous monuments in Algeria:
Algeria has been far more completely explored, and possesses a remarkable number of megalithic monuments. Many of the finest are situated near the town of Constantine. Thus at Bou Nouara there is a hill about a mile in length which is a regular necropolis of dolmen-tombs. Each grave consists of a dolmen within a circle of stones. The blocks are all natural and completely unworked. The circle consists of a wall of stone blocks so built as to neutralize the slope of the hill and to form a level platform for the dolmen. Thus on the lower side there are three courses of carefully laid stones rising to about five feet, while on the upper side there is only one course. The diameter of the circles varies from 22 to 33 feet. In the centre of the circle lies the dolmen with its single long cover-slab. This usually rests on two entire side-slabs, the ends being filled up either with entire slabs or with masonry of small stones. In rare cases the side-slabs are replaced by masonry walls. The average size of the cover-slab is 6½ by 5 feet. The dolmen itself is, of course, built directly on to the platform, and the space between it and the circle is filled up with rough stones. The orientation of the dolmens varied considerably, but the cover-slab was never placed in such a way that its length ran up the hill-slope, probably because in moving the slab into place this would have been an awkward position.
Another equally fine site is that of Bou Merzoug, near Oulad Rahmoun, about an hour's railway journey from Constantine. The place is naturally adapted for a settlement as there is a spring of water there. This spring was later utilized by the Romans to provide water for the city of Cirta. The dolmen-graves lie in great numbers on the hill at the foot of which the spring rises, and extend down into the valley. Each dolmen lies in the centre of a stone circle. This last is in some cases formed by very large slabs set on edge, but more often by two or three courses of rough oblong blocks. Many of the graves are badly damaged. One of the finest had an outer circle about 27 feet in diameter, and an inner circle 14 feet in diameter. Between these two a third circle, much more irregular and of small stones, could just be distinguished. But in most cases it was impossible to make out clearly more than the one outer circle and the dolmen within it. The dolmen itself consisted of a large slab resting on walls formed of several large blocks, the spaces between which were filled up with smaller stones. None of the stones used were worked. The dolmens were not oriented according to any fixed system. M. Féraud states that the separate graves were united together by open corridors formed by double or triple rows of large stones, but no traces of such a system could be found by the later visitors to the site, Messrs. MacIver and Wilkin.
Fortunately we have some record of what these graves contained, for thirteen were opened by Mr. Christy and M. Féraud. One contained a human skeleton in good condition, buried in the contracted position with the knees to chin and arms crossed. With this were two whole vases, fragments of others, and pieces of cedar wood. At the feet of the skeleton were two human heads, and as the graves would not have accommodated more than one whole body M. Féraud suggests that these belong to decapitated victims. Another grave contained, in addition to human bones, those of a horse, together with three objects of copper, viz. a ring, an earring, and a buckle. In another were found the teeth and bones of a horse and an iron bit.
An entirely different type of monument is found near Msila, south-west of Algiers. Here is a long low hill called the Senâm, covered with large numbers of stone circles. These consist of large slabs of natural limestone set up on edge and not very closely fitted. The height of the slabs varies from 2 to 3 feet, and the diameters of the three still perfect circles are 23½, 26¾, and 34⅓ feet respectively. At a point roughly south-east there is a break in the circumference, filled by a rectangular niche (Fig. 19) consisting of three large slabs, and varying in width from 2 ft. 6 in. to 6 feet. There is a possibility that the niches were originally roofed, but the evidence on this point is far from conclusive. The interior of the circle is filled with blocks of stone, apparently heaped up without any definite plan. There seems to be no clue as to the meaning of these circles, as none have as yet been explored. MacIver and Wilkin are probably right in classing them as graves.
The most famous, however, of the Algerian sites is unquestionably that of Roknia. Here the tombs lie on the side of a steep hill. They consist of dolmens often surrounded by stone circles from 25 to 33 feet in diameter. The cover-slabs of the dolmens usually rest on single uprights, and never on built walls. Several of the graves excavated contained more than one body, one yielding as many as seven. It is remarkable that three of the skulls showed wounds, the dead having been apparently killed in battle. Several vases have been found and a few pieces of bronze.
We have seen that in some of the tombs of Bou Merzoug objects of iron were found. This makes it clear that some at least of the Algerian tombs belong to the iron age, i.e. that they are probably later than 1000 B.C., but beyond this we cannot go. The medal of Faustina sometimes quoted as evidence for a very late date proves nothing, as it is not stated to have been found in a tomb. There is no evidence to show how far back the graves go. It may be that, as MacIver and Wilkin suggest, the parts of the cemeteries excavated chance to be the latest. At Bou Merzoug the excavators worked chiefly among the graves on the plain and at the bottom of the hill. The more closely crowded graves which lie on the hill itself may well be older than these. In fact, all that may be said of the Algerian graves is that some are of the iron age, while others may be and probably are earlier.
Famous monuments in Tunis:
In Tunis the dolmen is not uncommon, and several groups or cemeteries have been reported. Near Ellez occurs a type of corridor-tomb in which three dolmen-like chambers lie on either side of a central passage, and a seventh at the end opposite to the entrance. The whole is constructed of upright slabs of stone, and is surrounded by a circle formed in the same way.
Morocco, too, has its dolmens, especially in the district of Kabylia, while near Tangier there is a stone circle.
Off the north coast of Africa, and thus on the highway which leads from Africa to Europe, lie the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Linosa. The latter is volcanic in origin, and its surface presents no opportunity for the building of megalithic monuments. Lampedusa, on the other hand, consists of limestone, which lies about in great blocks on its surface. On the slopes of the south coast there are several remains of megalithic construction, but they are too damaged to show much of their original form. However, on the north side of the island there are megalithic huts in a very fair state of preservation. They are oval in form and have in many cases a base course of orthostatic slabs.
Some miles to the north of Linosa lies the much larger volcanic island of Pantelleria, also a possession of Italy. Here megalithic remains both of dwellings and of tombs have been found. On the plateau of the Mursia are the remains of rectangular huts made of rough blocks of stone. These huts seemed to have formed a village, which was surrounded by a wall for purposes of defence. In the huts were found implements of obsidian and flat stones used for grinding.
The tombs of the people who inhabited this village are, unlike the houses, circular or elliptical in form. They are locally known as sesi. The smaller are of truncated conical shape, the circular chamber being entered by a low door and having a corbelled roof. In one of the sesi a skeleton was found buried in the contracted position. The finest of the tombs, known as the Sese Grande, elliptical in form (Fig. 20), has a major diameter of more than 60 feet, and rises in ridges, being domed at the top. It contains not one chamber, but twelve, each of which has a separate entrance from the outside of the sese. To judge by the remains found in the sesi they belong entirely to the neolithic period.
