428 ray a. kea
Evidence of the commercialization and monetization of the Garamantian economy
can be clearly seen in the circulation of Roman coinage. The use of Roman coins in
the Fazzan between the first and sixth centuries ce testifies to the volume of commercial
exchange with the monetized districts of Mediterranean Africa, especially the
Tripolitanian ports. The oasis–caravan system reached its apex between the first
century bce and the third century ce with Fazzan, closely connected to the cities of
Tripolitania, at its center. Trade between Roman Africa and the Fazzan has to be
considered with regard to commerce between the Fazzan and state administrations
and urban formations of the middle Niger, the middle Senegal, and the Chadian
basins. The means of exchange in these transactions probably included gold dust,
silver ingots, and salt blocks.
According to an Italian–Libyan archaeological mission (Mattingly, 2003), a line of
now-ruined fortified sites south of the Fazzan, built starting in the first century ce,
formed a limes nearly 1000 kilometers south of the Roman limes of Tripolitania.
Fortifications consolidated control over commercial transactions along the Saharan–
middle Niger interface line. Four fortifications were studied: a citadel, “Aghram
Nadharif,” and three forts or castles. Occupied from the first to the fourth century ce,
the citadel controlled the only passage between two mountain ranges, a route
connecting the Fazzan with cities on the middle Niger floodplain or along its tributar-
ies. It had a labyrinth of streets bordered by two- and three-room houses designed to
accommodate a number of nuclear families employed in trading and military activities.
Lacking large public buildings such as temples, the citadel seemed to show an egalitar-
ian social organization. Its residents had modest material possessions and their graves
contained few if any imported or luxury goods, in stark contrast to the hierarchical
structures and displays of wealth in the Fazzan. The historical implications of this
social divide warrant further study, for example with reference to later movements of
political change and religious conversion.
The Italian–Libyan archaeological mission proposes that the Garamantian southern
frontier had four geo-spatial, structural features:
(1) an “inner territory” of densely-populated horticultural oases, each with a castle
or fort protecting its gardens and stored provisions, and whose inhabitants were
organized in extended families or lineages;
(2) an “intermediate territory” of pastures on mountain slopes where seasonal camps
for transhumant pastoralists were located;
(3) an outer “territory of outposts” or desert forts with water-management structures,
located near water sources and along important trade routes, controlling the
movements of caravans and travelers; and
(4) a “southern gate,” represented by the Aghram Nadharif citadel.
Pottery finds at the fortification display decorative techniques and patterns that
resemble those found on pottery recovered from urban sites along the middle
Niger floodplain. Shared middle Niger and Saharan ceramic traditions suggest
cross-craft interactions, cross-cultural exchanges, and inter-cultural identities
between 250 bce and 350 ce. The movement from middle Niger pottery produc-
tion sites to Garamantian circulation networks raises questions about the linguistic
environment, cultural and symbolic meanings, ideology, and social statuses. Are