ULVS XIII: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Ancient Farming in the Wadi Mansur, Tripolitania

Abstract

Abstract This article describes the interdisciplinary methods developed by the UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey in connection with the study of ancient agriculture. These methods combine the techniques of settlement archaeology with those of the earth sciences and palaeoeconomics. The interactive nature of the enquiry does not resolve all the questions, but it can help to re-shape those questions and suggest new lines of enquiry. The example of the Wadi Mansur is used here to demonstrate the application of both conventional and new techniques and the contribution this can make to our appreciation of ancient land use in an arid zone. This provisional statement of results describes the geomorphology of the wadi, the settlement archaeology, ceramic dating evidence, palaeoeconomic data (including palynological evidence), wadi wall technology and typology.