Farming Desert Libyan Valleys Archaeological Survey

The desert margins of North Africa are extremely rich in archaeological ruins of the Roman period, evidence of dense settlement 2000 years ago in what are now arid and hostile environments. Historians, geographers and archaeologists hae long debated the significance of these sites, explaining the 'Greening of the Desert' variously in terms of environmental change, colonization, external market forces or combinations of factors. What has characterized the debate so far has been a lack of scientific data. This survey by UNESCO provides scientific information on this area.