Photo Gallery

This rock painting is in a shelter called Ahréné in Wadi Iherir. It shows a large ox painted with patterns. Note the similarity with the engraved ox of Tin-Terhert (see Saharan rock art 578, 579). Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - 1993

Terrarart - Four very deeply engraved oxen with polished parts. Executed in the style of those of In-Debiren, with maximum use of the natural rock relief. The ox in the centre left is called the "weeping cow" because a tear seems to run from its right eye. This man-sized engraving is on an isolated rock that rises out of the sand in the Wadi Edjiriou. It is said that the "weeping cow" dips its snout into the water when the wadi flows. Size of its head from forehead to nostrils: 0.60 m. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - 1993

At the Tafilalet Pass - Third Akba (Akba: ascent) on the way to Tamrit. Elongated woman painted in red ochre with darker arms. Part of her loincloth hangs between her legs. She is in the special starting position for the "sprint". She is 0.60 m tall from her hands to her feet. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - 1993

An overview of the rock art in the Tan-Zoumaïtak shelter. You can make out people and mouflon (sheep). This dome-shaped shelter was worthy of arousing religious feelings. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - 1993

The dancers appear to be wearing long tunics, with the strip of fabric at the waist possibly being a bow. A look at the right hand of the left dancer shows that it is resting on the left mouflon, suggesting a simultaneity between the dancers and the mouflons. Note the structure of the calottes and the original decoration of the heads. The arms bear numerous rings. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer -n'Ajjer - Tan-Zoumaïtak - 1993

A magnificent painted document depicting the shepherds' accurate view of the flocks for which they were responsible. The horns are exactly those that can still be seen in some parts of East Africa today. Such a work would deserve to be included in the inventory of world cultural heritage. One must be grateful to the Algerian authorities for prohibiting access to it. The polychrome hues highlight the high quality of the drawing. Pictured rock painting: 0.82 m wide. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Ouan Bender - 1993

Fresco showing figures painted with brown ochre, which have a round head with two small antennae. It is not known why two of them are depicted lying down. The archer in the lower right corner holds a double-curved bow. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Tin Tazarift - 1993

On the left, a man with a "stick head" holding a long stick or a lance. He is wearing the short tunic typical of his race, which is more or less tight at the waist. In front of him is another man with a lighter complexion who seems to be wearing a garment that could be made of an animal skin. He is walking towards three oxen, which are rendered with a remarkable stroke of brown ochre. The figure on the left is 0.22 m tall. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Oum Itouami - 1993

The mysterious "Martian" by Séfar recalls a ritual whose key escapes us. This male figure - the gender is highlighted - has an overlong body. The hands with five fingers are in the posture of a praying man, but the kind of protuberances on the two arms and the shape of the head are inexplicable. He wears two bracelets, which are represented by three lines on each arm. On the left side, a small figure seems to be summoning him. Perhaps he is wearing a belt? The structure with vertical grooves has no known meaning. Mysterious horned animals make the image even more difficult to interpret. The scene, painted in white with red outlines, is at least mysterious and perhaps magical. The distance from hand to hand of the praying man measures 1.55 m. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - 1993

Situation of the "Martian" in the Séfar fresco. The width of the mural depicted here measures 8 m. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - 1993

Two animals in the Séfar style are treated with white paint and brown ochre. The outline of the left animal is doubled by a line of small arrows (>>>). A small cow can be seen under the right animal. Two animals can be seen on the left. Width of the panel depicted: 3.20 m. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Tin-Kani - 1993

Beautiful fresco from the cattle period, mixing shepherds and cattle. The large figure in the centre wears a yellow loincloth. He seems to be holding his head and stretching something with his left hand. The cow on the right is black, the other animals and the shepherds are multi-coloured. The width of the painting is 0.70 m. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Alan-Edoument - 1993

This beautiful pastoral scene is treated with ochre and many colours that give it an amazing impression of liveliness. The individuals are negroid. The cattle are in a static pose, but the individuals are captured in their daily occupations. Two individuals are lying down in the upper section. Another is sitting with one arm back and one hand on the ground. A child (?) is at the level of the legs of a reclining woman (?). Further to the right is a person lying down. The person at the bottom in the middle is 0.27 m high. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Ozeneare - 1993

Two shepherds, on their right a negroid woman. The latter has a white hairstyle and a white loincloth. The breasts are visible. She carries a basket in her right hand and an unspecified object in her left. The figures on the left are less precise. Between the two is an indeterminable circular structure. The woman is 0.16 m tall. Red and white ochre painting. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Ozeneare - 1993

The large number of cattle frescoes, in which the male animals seem to dominate, raises a number of questions. The first is the importance of vegetation, which in turn presupposes water that could ensure sufficient grazing. The second is the question of how this herd participated in the local economy. Today's Maasai or Peuhl do not operate at all like the Norman farmers. And thirdly, such a herd requires veterinary skills, if only to castrate the bulls. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Ozeneare - 1993

The "black archer". Ochre painting that leaves no doubt about the hunter's ethnicity. He wears a strange hairstyle and probably a loincloth as he draws his bow forward. From the left end of the bow to the end of the left hand: 0.20 m. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Jabbaren - 1993

Very beautiful fresco with cattle from the pastoral period, painted with red ochre and white paint. Black browns, greens, blues and yellows were achieved by combining red ochre with various metal oxides. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Jabbaren - 1993

The "Abyssinian". This beautiful painting shows us a person with fine features, luxuriant hair and a beard. There are not only blacks and whites. There is a whole ethnic group made up of dark-skinned whites. They are numerous in East Africa and used to frequent the Sahara. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Jabbaren - 1993

A shelter on the edge of a river, the floor of which consists of a soft slab of rock eroded by water and wind. Most of the rock paintings are preserved in the man-sized, blanket-like rock pieces. Detail in the following picture. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - Jabbaren - 1993

The "white lady" and the "masked magician". The "white lady" has nothing to do with her South African namesake, who had seduced Abbé Breuil, or with a local representation of another, very adorned woman. Here it is a massive figure with a "round head" on which sits a feather (?). Opposite on the left is the face of a man wearing a white loincloth and whose body is decorated with a small diamond pattern. The whole thing is typically African. Algeria - Tassili n'Ajjer - In-Aouanrhet - 1993

Such cliffs were in prehistory, and are even today, preferred places for people looking for a place to live. A settlement at El Beridij is located at the end of the cliff on the right. Algeria - Tadrart - 1993

Detail from the previous photo. Engravings from the cattle age, but very difficult to read. The anatomical accuracy here is extremely remarkable. Five cattle are identified. Algeria - Tadrart - El Beridij - 1993

A deer (?) being pursued by a dog (Sloughi?). From the snout of the animal to the tail of the dog: 0.55 m in length. Algeria - Tadrart - El Beridij - 1993

When one realises with what simple means this masterpiece was executed, one can only marvel. This giraffe painted with red ochre is truly amazing. In addition, the work, which was created in a shelter, does not receive any direct light. Size 43 cm. Algeria - Tadrart - In Djaren - 1993

Beautiful fresco painted on the ceiling of a shelter in Tisseteka. Cattle with lyre-shaped or hanging horns. The fur of an animal in the centre left is rendered by stippling. A large bovine animal in the lower half is lying with one leg bent against its belly. Width of the panel depicted: 0.75 m. Algeria - Tadrart - 1993

286 - El Beridj (Tadrart). - The cliffs have been, in prehistory and even up to today, favored places by humans seeking a habitat. One site of El Beridj is located at the end of the rocky spur to the right. Photos 287 and 288.

480 - Séfar (Tassili-n'Ajjer). – Location of the "Martian" in the fresco from Séfar. The width of the panel depicted here: 8 m.