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Visiting the Past: Finding and Understanding Britain's Archaeology

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<< Our Photo Pages >> Laas Gaal - Cave or Rock Shelter in Somalia

Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 13 May 2011  Page Views: 13721

Natural PlacesSite Name: Laas Gaal Alternative Name: Laas Ga'al, Laas Geel
Country: Somalia
NOTE: This site is 387.774 km away from the location you searched for.

Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Town: Hargeisa
Latitude: 9.600000N  Longitude: 44.116667E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
3
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Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal submitted by Andy B : Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia, showing a cow accompanied by a human being. This image is the most unusual one in the collection, the cow appears to be draped in ceremonial robes. Creative Commons image by Najeeb (Vote or comment on this photo)
Cave in Somalia. The Laas Geel site contains granite caves sheltering about ten rock alcoves decorated with Neolithic cave paintings. The caves are located outside Hargeisa, in an area encompassing a nomadic village, the Naasa Hablood hills. The site overlooks a wide district of countryside, where nomads graze their livestock and wild antelopes roam the vast landscape.

The local nomads used the caves as a shelter when it rained and never paid much attention to the paintings. The site is now guarded by the local villagers.

During November and December 2002, an archaeological survey was carried out by a French team in Somalia. The reason for this was to search for rock shelters and caves containing stratified archaeological infills capable of documenting the period when production economy appeared in this part of the Horn of Africa (circa 5,000 and 2,000 BCE). During the course of the survey, the French archaeological team discovered the Laas Geel cave paintings, encompassing an area of ten rock alcoves (caves). The paintings, in an excellent state of preservation, show ancient humans of the area raising their hands and worshipping humpless cows with large lyre-shaped horns. However, the rock art had been known to the local Somali people for centuries before the French discovery. Yet, the existence of the sites had not been broadcast to the international community. In November 2003, a mission returned to Laas Geel and a team of experts undertook a detailed study of the paintings and their prehistoric context.

There are a number of other sites in the area around Hargeisa with similar cave paintings.

The cave paintings are thought to be some of the best preserved in Africa. The paintings represent cows in ceremonial robes accompanied by stocky humans (believed to be inhabitants of the region). The necks of the cows are embellished with a kind of plastron, some of the cows are even wearing decorative robes. The paintings not only show cows, there are also an image of a domesticated dog, several paintings of canidae and even a giraffe.

The paintings are well preserved; even with the history of Somalia wars, natural weathering, animals and other factors, the paintings have survived intact and retain their clear outlines and vibrant colors.

There has been little international publicity of the Laas Geel cave paintings and the paintings have been threatened by people coming to the caves for recreational purposes. The paintings are now part of the future tourist attractions in the area once stability returns to the region.

Simon Reeve visited the cave paintings as part of his television programme Places That Don't Exist. Amazed at the excellent preservation and vibrant colors of the paintings, he said that "Laas Ga'al, it transpires, is probably the most significant Neolithic rock painting site in the whole of Africa" and that "few people know that Somalia is home to such treasures." The late Osman Bile Ali, who showed Reeve the site, described the Laas Geel cave paintings as beautiful.

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Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal submitted by Andy B : Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia, showing a cow. The guide told me to note that, unlike African cows, this cow has got a straight back. Note the style of the neck and horns. Creative Commons image by Najeeb (2 comments - Vote or comment on this photo)

Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal submitted by Andy B : Detail of the Laas Geel cave paintings (near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia) showing a cow herd. Creative Commons image by Najeeb (Vote or comment on this photo)

Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal submitted by Andy B : Alcove in Laas Geel, near Hargeysa, Somaliland/Somalia, where Neolithic cave paintings have been found. The local nomads used this alcove as a shelter when it rained and never paid much attention to the paintings. The site is now guarded by the local villagers who view these paintings as both national treasures and tourist attractions. Creative Commons image by Najeeb (Vote or comment on this photo)

Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal submitted by ahmedfowsi : laas-geel cave Somaliland East Africa .we dug these historic stones from an ancient graveyard (Vote or comment on this photo)

Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal submitted by ahmedfowsi : Site in Somalia

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Laas Gaal cave galleries show early Somali life by Andy B on Friday, 13 May 2011
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A galaxy of colourful animal and human sketches adorn the caves in the rocky hills of this arid wilderness in northern Somalia, home to Africa's earliest known and most pristine rock art.

But in a region ravaged by two decades of relentless civil unrest and lawlessness, the archeological site is at risk of destruction, looting and clandestine excavation.

The 10 caves in Laas Geel, Somali for "camel watering hole", outside Hargeisa, the capital of Somalia's self-declared Somaliland state, show vivid depictions of a pastoralist history dating back some 5,000 years or more.

The paintings were discovered in 2002 by a French archaeology team and have since been protected to bar looters after their value became apparent to locals who previously feared they were the work of evil spirits.

"The people around here thought the caves had evil spirits and never used to come near. They offered sacrifices not to be harmed," recounted Ali Said, an assistant archaeologist with the Somaliland government.

The cave galleries provide a peek into the little known history of this part of the world, which in recent times has mostly been famous for bloody conflicts and instability.

Paintings of decorated cows -- some with radiant neck stripes -- herders and wild animals point to the interglacial period when the now arid Horn of Africa region was lush and had plenty of wild animals, explained Sada Mire, a Somali-born British archaeologist working to preserve the rare heritage.

Much of Somalia is now a vast badland and the parched Laas Geel region no longer draws heards of cattle coming to graze and water, while human settlement is sparse.

"We know that the painters were pastoralists who lived in a much better climate than the present," Mire said.

"It is quite an important discovery as little is known about the history of this region and lots of archaeological heritage is being lost to destruction, looting and neglect," she added.

The Laas Geel rock caves are located near a confluence of two now dry rivers, which lend credence to its name and the practice of herders taking to etching cave walls with animal and other depictions.

While some of the Laas Geel cave paintings are stunningly vivid, others have faded off due to rock degradation and effects of weather. The caves house a constellation of brown, orange, white and red pre-historic sketches on the walls and ceiling.

"The paintings are vanishing if urgent conservation measures are not taken. At the moment we are protecting and recording them. Weathering as well as human threat in terms of unplanned development are immediate treats," Mire said.

More at Pysorg
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-grotto-galleries-early-somali-life.html
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