The Dolmens and Hawanat of Africa Proconsularis Revisited

For the burial monuments in Tunisia , see: Belmonte J. A. Esteban C. Jiménez J. J. , “Mediterranean archaeoastronomy and archaeotopography: Pre-Roman tombs of Africa Proconsularis”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 23 (1998), S7–24. On this occasion we visited the dolmens at Elles, Mactar, Bulla Regia, Dougga and Chauach and the hawanat at Ben Yasla, Guetma and Chauach.

For the megalithic monuments and Saharan tumuli of Morocco, see: Belmonte J. A. Esteban C. Cuesta L. Betancort Perera M. A. González Jiménez J. J. , “Pre-Islamic burial monuments in northern and Saharan Morocco”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 24 (1999), S21–34.

For pre-Islamic burial monuments in Libya see: Belmonte J. A. Esteban C. Betancort Perera M. A. Romero Marrero R. , “Archaeoastronomy in the Sahara: The tombs of the Garamantes at Wadi el Agial (Fezzan, Libya)”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 27 (2002), S1–19.

On the temples see: Esteban C. Belmonte J. A. Betancort Perera M. A. Marrero R. González Jiménez J. J. , “Orientation of pre-Islamic temples of northwest Africa”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 26 (2001), S65–84.

Camps G. , Aux origenes de la Berberie: Monuments et rites funéraires protohistoriques (Paris, 1961). This is the ‘Bible’ of the field. For an up-to-date revision, see: Camps G. , “Les nécropoles mégalitiques de l'Afrique du Nord”, in Monuments funéraries et institutions autochtones en Afrique du Nord antique et médiévale: VI^e Colloque International sur l'Histoire et l'Archéologie de l'Afrique du Nord , ed. by Trousset P. (Aix-en-Provence, 1995), 17–31.

See Belmonte op. cit. (ref. 1).

Hoskin M. , Temples, tombs and their orientations: A new perspective on Mediterranean prehistory (Bognor Regis, 2001). In this pivotal book, data collected by the author and Giorgia Foderà Serio on the major site of Jelleb, and the minor sites of Koudiat el Gouzzah, Ain el Gasbat and Kesra, are presented. The important site of Henchir Mided is also discussed. All these settlements are located in central Tunisia.

For Henchir Mided , see: Belmonte J. A. Hoskin M. , Reflejo del cosmos: Atlas de arqueoastronomía del Mediterráneo antiguo (Madrid, 2002), 315–16. For the site of Jelleb , see: Zoughlami J. Chernokian R. Harbi-Riahi M. , Atlas préhistorique de la Tunisie , no. 11: Kairouan (Rome, 1998), 99. This site was measured by Hoskin Foderà Serio. See Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 7).

For a general introduction to the region see: Camps G. , Les berbères: Mémoire et identité (Paris, 1992), or Hachid M. , Les premiers berbères: Entre Méditerranée, Tassili et Nil (Algiers and Aix-en-Provence, 2001). For an excellent review on ancient politics, see: Coltelloni-Trannoy M. , Le royaume de Maurítanie sous Juba II et Ptolémee (Paris, 1997).

See: Chabot J. B. , Recueil des inscriptions lybiques (3 vols, Paris, 1941). An up-to-date treatment of the relationship between different Libyc-Berber writing groups and their historical consequences can be found in: Belmonte J. A. Bunk Springer R. Betancort Perera M. A. Marrero R. , “Las escrituras líbico-bereberes de Canarias, el Magreb y el Sahara: Su relación con el poblamiento del Archipiélago Canario”, Revista de arqueologia , no. 245 (2001), 6–13.

For an excellent study on the Punic presence in the north of Africa, see: Lancel S. , Cartago (Barcelona, 1994).

Camps G. , (ed.), Encyclopedie berbère , xvi (Aix-en-Provence, 1996), item “Dolmen”.

The situation has improved considerably in the last few years. In this sense, Prof. Ali Guerbabi , Director of the Timgad site, is willing to start fieldwork in his area of interest, between the Aures Mountains and the Mediterranean. This includes important megalithic necropolises, Numidian mausoleums, and Roman cities, such as Timgad itself.

Savary J. P. , “L'architecture et l'orientation des dolmens de Beni Messous”, Libyca , xvii (1969), 271–330. These dolmens are similar to the Tunisian ones.

For the sites of Chauach Djebel Goraa Dougga Kern el Kebch , see: Gragueb A. Camps G. Harbi-Raihi M. M'timet A. Zoughlami J. , Atlas préhistorique de la Tunisie , no. 5: Tunis (Rome, 1987), 18, 47, 56 and 66, respectively.

For the sites of Elles Hamman Zouakra MacTar Henchir Mided Kesra , see: Harbi-Riahi M. Gragueb A. Camps G. M'timet A. Zoughlami J. , Atlas préhistorique de la Tunisie , no. 8: Mactar (Rome, 1985), 19, 30, 31, 36 and 37, respectively.

For the site of Koudiat Soltane , see: M'timet A. Gragueb A. Camps G. Harbi-Riahi M. Zoughlami J. , Atlas préhistorique de la Tunisie , no. 7: Le Kef (Rome, 1985), 23.

Camps G. , Encyclopédie berbère , vol. xxi (Aix-en-Provence, 1999), item “Goraa”. In this item, the plan of a couple of dolmens, one in front of the other, is presented. This made us think that no custom would be found on site.

For Elles , see: Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 1), and Belmonte Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 8), 305–8.

In Dougga , the dolmens were orientated in a narrow interval centred on the southeast, independently of the slope of the terrain where the necropolis was located. This direction was also followed by several temples in the city. Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 1), and Esteban , op. cit. (ref. 4). See also: Belmonte Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 8), 355–60.

Sirius was important in the culture of Canarian aborigines (tribes of proto-Berbers provenance) and is still an important landmark in the calendars of Canarian peasants and the Touaregs. See: Belmonte J. A. de Lara Sanz M. , El cielo de los magos: Tiempo astronómico y meteorológico en la cultura tradicional del campesinado canario (La Laguna, 2001). Its importance in Pharaonic Egypt is of course well known.

In Gragueb , op. cit. (ref. 15), there was clear evidence of a large group of megalithic monuments, covering the plateau over the cliffs where the hawanat are located. These were divided into two sections by a small ravine. In 1997, we visited the west section, but found only two measurable monuments. In 2002, we returned, looking for the rest of the dolmens with a map and some photographs, but we were able to find only three monuments of the original two dozen in the eastern section. We have the impression that most of the dolmens have been destroyed by the growing population of the village, who have re-used the stone for building houses and stone fences.

For Sardinia , see: Zedda M. Hoskin M. Gralewski R. Manca G. , “Orientations of 230 tombe di giganti”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 21 (1996), S33–54. For the Iberian Peninsula , see: Hoskin M. , “Studies on Iberian Archaeoastronomy, (9): An overview”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 27 (2002), S75–82. For the entire western Mediterranean region, see: Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 7).

For the idebni (pre-Islamic burial monuments) of the Ahaggar (Algerian Sahara), see: Savary J. P. , “Monuments en pierres seches de Fadnoun”, Memoires C.R.A.H.E. Algerie , vi (1967), 43–48, p. 46. For monuments in the Messak Settafet (Libyan Sahara), see: Gauthier Y. Gauthier Ch. , “Orientation et distribution de divers types de monuments lithiques du Messak et des régions voisines (Fezzan, Libya)”, Sahara , xi (1999), 87–108. See also: Belmonte Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 8), 297–300 (on the idebni) and 317–24 (on the Messak).

It is almost impossible to find a coherent group of megalithic monuments with a clear northern pattern of orientation. One exception can be found in: Belmonte J. A. , “Mediterranean archaeoastronomy and archaeotopography: Two examples of dolmenic necropolises in the Jordan Valley”, Archaeoastronomy , no. 28 (1997), S36–43.

Most of the hawanat are concentrated in the coast whilst most of the dolmens are found in the interior (see Figure 1). However, near Enfida, in eastern Tunisia, there was twenty years ago a large ‘coast’ type dolmen necropolis, today completely destroyed. For the tombs excavated on the cliffs, see: Longerstay M. , “Les haounanet”, in Trousset P. (ed.), op. cit. (ref. 5), 33–53.

For a discussion of the possible astronomical orientations see: Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 1), or Belmonte Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 8), 189–92 and 335–40.

Domus de Janas is ancient sardu for Fairy Houses. Our group, in collaboration with the Sardinian antiquarian Mauro Zedda, have conducted some preliminary work in the necropolis of Anghelu Ruju, near Alghero, finding that not all horizon directions were equally permitted. See: Belmonte Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 8), 167–70. General information on the prehistory of Sardinia can be found in: Anati E. (ed.), I Sardi: La Sardegna del paleolítico all'eta'Romana (Milan, 1984). For the necropolis itself, see: Demartis G. M. “La necropoli di Anghelu Ruju”, Sardegna archaeologica , no. 2 (Cagliari, 1986). For the Bronze Age rock-cut tombs of Sicily, see: Danzuse G. L. Zinna E. , Pantalica (Catania, 1989), and Tusa S. , Sicilia preistorica (Palermo, 1994). An study of orientation can be found in: Serio Foderà G. Tusa S. , “Rapporti tra morfologia ed orientamento nelle architetture rituali Siciliane dal IV Millennio al II Millennio A.C.”, in L'uomo antico e il cosmo (Atti dei Convegno Lincei , clxxi; Rome, 2001), 297–333. Surprisingly, in the Sicilian rock-cut tombs reported in this study, the northwest quadrant of the horizon is also avoided. In addition, in a preliminary study, we have measured the orientations in the necropolis of Thapsos, near Syracuse, finding possible astronomical and topographical implications in the orientation of the tombs. See: Belmonte Hoskin , op. cit. (ref. 8), 193–6.

In our 1997 campaign, we measured the hanut necropolises of Chauach Ben Yasla El Guetma , the latter two in the Mogods Mountains to the north of the country.

For the hawanat necropolis of Sidi Zit , see: Harbi-Riahi M. Gragueb A. Camps G. M'timet A. Zoughlami J. J., Atlas préhistorique de la Tunisie , no. 6: La Goulette (Rome, 1987), 67.

For the hawanat of Aïn Djal , see: Gragueb , op. cit. (ref. 15), 7.

Belmonte , op. cit. (ref. 1).