Ehrenreich – Fuchs: Archaeological investigation of the„Goulet“ site no. 338 in the Wadi Tifariti Archaeological investigation of the „Goulet“ site no. 338 in the Wadi Tifariti, West Sahara Sigrid Ehrenreich und Gerald Fuchs Keywords: archaeology, excavation, g oulet, Milburn-Stiftung, neolithic, palaeolithic , pottery, prehisto- ric, SADR, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, s ilex, stone monument , Tifari ti, wadi, West Sahara. Fig . 1: Wadi Tifariti, Goulet site no. 338 , view to the west. Contents: Contents: ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 1 Abbreviations ................................ ................................................................ ............................... 4 1. History of research and methods ................................ ................................ ................... 5 1.1 Aims ................................ ................................................................ ................................ .. 5 1.2 History of research ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 5 1.2.1 The period from 1937 to 2005 ................................................................ .......................... 5 1 Ehrenreich – Fuchs: Archaeological investigation of the„Goulet“ site no. 338 in the Wadi Tifariti 1.2.2 Investigations in 2009 ....................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Methods ............................................................................................................................. 7 1.3.1 Documentation of the monument ...................................................................................... 7 1.3.2 Excavation techniques and documentation ....................................................................... 7 2 The Goulet ....................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Position ............................................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Short description of the stone monument........................................................................ 12 2.4. Description of the stratigraphic units .............................................................................. 16 3 Excavation results ......................................................................................................... 23 4 Archaeological objects near the Goulet ....................................................................... 26 4.1 Object AL2: Stone setting .............................................................................................. 26 4.2 Object AL3: Stone setting .............................................................................................. 26 4.3 Object AL4: Stone setting .............................................................................................. 27 4.4 Object AL5: Stone setting .............................................................................................. 28 4.5 Object AL6: Stone setting .............................................................................................. 28 4.6 Object AL7: Stone setting .............................................................................................. 29 4.7 Object AL8: Aggregation of stones ................................................................................ 30 4.8 Object AL9: Aggregation of stones ............................................................................... 31 4.9 Object AL10: Stone paving ............................................................................................ 33 4.10 Object AL11: Stone paving ............................................................................................ 36 4.11 Objekt AL12: two Tumuli .............................................................................................. 37 5 Finds ............................................................................................................................... 39 5.1 Finds from the Goulet ..................................................................................................... 39 5.1.1 List of finds ..................................................................................................................... 39 5.1.2 Description of finds ......................................................................................................... 41 5.2 Finds from the objects AL2 to AL10 .............................................................................. 55 6 Analysis and interpretation .......................................................................................... 56 6.1 Distribution of Goulets .................................................................................................... 56 6.2 Structural elements and specific features of the Goulets ................................................ 56 6.2.1 Characteristics representative for most of the Goulets.................................................... 56 6.2.2 Further observations concerning Goulets in the Wadi Tifariti ........................................ 57 6.3 Finds from the Goulet, site no. 338. ................................................................................ 58 6.3.1 Stratified finds from the Goulet ...................................................................................... 58 6.3.2 Surface finds in the Goulet .............................................................................................. 60 6.4 Comparison of the pottery from the Goulet .................................................................... 60 6.4.1 El-Kiffen near Temara .................................................................................................... 60 6.4.2 Cabo Juby near Tarfaya .................................................................................................. 62 6.4.3 Kef Aziza near Tazzouguert............................................................................................ 62 6.4.4 Caves of Herkules near Tanger ....................................................................................... 63 2 Ehrenreich – Fuchs: Archaeological investigation of the„Goulet“ site no. 338 in the Wadi Tifariti 6.4.5 Golfe d’Arguin ................................................................................................................ 63 6.4.6 Ti’n Akkor ...................................................................................................................... 64 6.4.7 Oued Tilemsi ................................................................................................................... 64 6.4.8 Kirkissoy II ..................................................................................................................... 64 7 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 65 Waiting for the departure to Tifariti: Dr. Mark Milburn (left) and Baschir Mehdi Bhaya (right). 3 Ehrenreich – Fuchs: Archaeological investigation of the„Goulet“ site no. 338 in the Wadi Tifariti Abbreviations fig. figure bs bodysherd cm centimeter dm diameter DOF documented surface E east FNr. find number IF interface l length m meter mm millimeter N north NE northeast PAL palaeolithic Qu. quadrat rs rimsherd S south SE southeast SE stratigrafic entity, unit of stratification S south th thickness VP measuring point + number, for example „VP P12“ w width W west Camels in the Wadi Tifariti 4 Ehrenreich – Fuchs: Archaeological investigation of the„Goulet“ site no. 338 in the Wadi Tifariti 1. History of research and methods 1.1 Aims Our aim was the archaeological investigation of a prehistoric stone monument of the type "Goulet" to obtain new knowledge about this monument type which, although widespread in the western Sahara, has hardly been investigated to date. The work was intended to con- tinue the excavation begun by Joaquím Soler (University of Gerona) of the Goulet "Abella Legtef" (ID no. 338) during December 2006, to whom we extend our thanks and appreciation of his work and sincere cooperation. 1.2 History of research 1.2.1 The period from 1937 to 2005 Stone monuments of the type “Goulet” (French „bottleneck“) are mentioned by Th. Monod first in 1948; already in 1937 the French sergeant Gobin had published the same objects, albeit without naming them in detail. In the early 1970s the Spanish air force captain F. Cas- teleiro noticed monuments from his fighter plane and took photos, calling the structures ob- served "boomerangs" (= crescents) and "moscas" ( = "fly" in Spanish – a far more suitable name than the French "goulet"). In El-Ayun Mark Milburn got to know the captain who gave him many aerial photos and his own personal notes – including those from the area of the Wadi Tifariti. In the years 1971 and 1972 Mark Milburn travelled around the northern Spanish Sahara and visited, most generously aided by innumerable forces personnel, many stone monu- ments and petroglyphs. In 1973 he also chanced upon some of the rock engravings of Slugilla. In 1994 he came to Morocco where he visited many monuments including Goulets together with Susan Searight. In 2002, Savino Di Lernia worked with Nick Brooks (western Sahara Project) in the region of Tifariti, where a systematic