Horses and Habitations: Iron Age Rock Art from Fortified Hilltop Settlements in the Wadi Draa, Morocco

What is it about?

The article presents dramatic evidence from two Moroccan Iron Age hillfort sites that have associated rock art images, both on natural rock surfaces and cut onto the walls of buildings of the settlements. The imagery is predominantly of horses (especially horse and rider scenes), though a range of other fauna are represented. Radiocarbon dating has established that these sites and the related rock art imagery are around 1,500 years old. While it is common to find rock art of this era in the Sahara, it is rare indeed to find it associated with settlements. Their context provides important clues to their social function in pre-Islamic desert communities.

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