Foggaras and the Garamantes: Hydraulic landscapes in the central Sahara

Hundreds of underground irrigation canals, similar to the Persian qanats but known locally as foggaras, have been recorded in Fazzan, Libya’s southern desert province. Radiocarbon dating of the foggaras and associated sites has shown conclusively that these were in use from c.400 B.C. – A.D. 700. This corresponds to the heyday of a people known as the Garamantes, who can arguably be identified as the earliest polity in the Central Sahara. In this paper, the authors explore the relationship between the development of the Garamantian state and the development of complex irrigation systems. We consider the role of the hyper -arid environment and its impact on the adoption of intensive oasis agriculture and the potential for declining water tables and failing foggaras to have contributed to the decline of Garamantian power and cohesion. We also consider the human dimension of technological innovation and managerial responses in creating a constantly evolving set of irrigation systems with corresponding evidence for cooperation and conflict.