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Between the Desert and the Deep The Lived Experience of the Funerary Landscape of the Ancient Maghreb (4th – 1st millennium BCE) Meg Moodie PhD Classics University of Edinburgh 2019 1 Abstract This thesis focusses on the underlying traditions, inspirations, and influences that led to the creation of the so-called Numidian elite funerary architecture of the 4th to 1st centuries BCE in the ancient Maghreb. Using the nine most-studied structures as a point of departure, the argument will focus on how these tombs and related monuments fit into their African and Mediterranean contexts and the impact this had on self- and social identity in North Africa. This will offer an insight into the indigenous communities and their society before and during this period as reflected in, and projected through, their funerary traditions. This includes analysing the pre-existing northern African burial traditions from the 4th millennium BCE onwards and their impact on the development of megalithic funerary practices over the millennia. By focusing on the built environment, landscape, and the human experience of death and burial, this study explores not only the physical reality of mortuary practices in the prehistoric Maghreb but also the lasting ritual traditions that influenced the later development of monumental construction during the Hellenistic period and beyond. This analysis is conducted through the theoretical frameworks of landscape and sense archaeology, globalization theory, and creolization theory to create a more balanced comprehension of the complex dynamics of the increasingly inter-regional and diverse context of the ancient Maghreb. 2 Lay summary This thesis centres on the funerary structures associated with the indigenous kingdoms of ancient North Africa and how foreign influences and local reactions to them affected the way communities buried and commemorated their dead in this region. Using the archaeological evidence of the 4th to 1st millennium BCE, this study looks at the wider context of ritual behaviour and how this was reflected in architecture. This analysis focuses on the extent to which ancient African and Mediterranean practices impacted on the design and construction of tombs in the ancient Maghreb. By using modern theories linked to the expansion of wide networks connecting regions through trade and migration, this thesis highlights how ancient communities interacted with each other without losing their sense of identity. Instead, these communities engaged with new influences as well as older traditions to create new forms of funerary architectural expression unique to this region and its people. 3 Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where stated otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. _________________________ __________________________ 4 Acknowledgements Over the many years that it takes to work towards entering and completing a PhD, there are numerous advisors, mentors, friends, and family that make the process more manageable. While I cannot effectively thank everyone who has had a hand in forming the academic and non-academic setting that has helped create this work, there are those that deserve special mention. Firstly, many thanks to my supervisors Ben Russell and Andrew Erskine who have provided excellent guidance, patience, and encouragement throughout my PhD. Thank you also to Tanja Romankiewicz, Candace Rice, Guillaume Robin, and Tamar Hodos for valuable additional support and direction. Thank you to those who made my research trips to North Africa run smoothly: Kevin Dyck (Mosaic North Africa), Ahcicene Segouini, Rafik Cheraitia, Ridha ben Elhedi, and Makram Mallem. Thanks must also be given to the funding bodies that have made this necessary research and fieldwork possible: the Principle’s Career Development Scholarship, the Global Research Scholarship, the Baldwin Brown Fund, the Roberts Training Fund, the Research Student Support Fund, the Conference Support Fund, and the Tweedie Exploration Fellowship. Without all this academic and financial support none of this would have been possible. Secondly, thank you to my friends and colleagues Liam Gale, Ambra Ghiringhelli, Zofia Guertin, Alison John, and Briana King, without whom these past few years would have been far less fun and far more challenging. Thank you to my family, my parents Michele and Keith, and siblings Kate and James, who have never wavered in their support of my dreams and ambitions even when these have taken me to the other side of the world and very rarely back. And finally, to my wife and emotional rock, Bex Currie, no words can express the gratitude I have for your constant love, encouragement, patience, and belief in me when I could not see it. You will be as relieved as I am that this is now done. Ek het jou baie lief. 5 Contents List of Figures ....................................................................................................................11 Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................23 Between the Desert and the Deep: The Lived Experience of the Funerary Landscape of the Ancient Maghreb (4th – 1st millennium BCE) ........................................................25 i. Introduction ...................................................................................................................25 i.i. The wider context ................................................................................................26 i.ii. Geographic focus .................................................................................................28 i.iii. Chronology .........................................................................................................29 i.iv. Hypothesis and research questions ...................................................................30 i.v. Methodology .......................................................................................................31 i.vi. Literature review ................................................................................................33 ii. Structure .......................................................................................................................36 Chapter 1: Setting and context - the ancient Maghreb ..............................................45 1.1. Socio-political context ...............................................................................................45 1.1a. Towns and tribes ..............................................................................................46 1.1b. Cities and kings ................................................................................................48 Maures ......................................................................................................................49 Masaesyli ...................................................................................................................50 Massyli ......................................................................................................................51 Gaetuli .......................................................................................................................53 Garamantes ...............................................................................................................54 1.1c. Engagement and identity .................................................................................55 1.2. Contact and connectivity...........................................................................................59 1.2a. Trans-Saharan contact .....................................................................................60 1.2b. Mediterranean contact ....................................................................................61 1.3. Archaeology ...............................................................................................................64 6 1.3a. Mortuary archaeology ..................................................................................... 66 1.3b. Landscape archaeology.................................................................................... 68 1.3c. Sense archaeology ........................................................................................... 69 1.4. Theoretical approaches: globalization and creolization ........................................... 71 Chapter 2: The Elite Amazigh Monuments of the Hellenistic Maghreb ..................... 73 Section A: The archaeological