Remarks on the Saharan heel-shaped cairn

              Mark MILBURN, Lanzarote
REMARKS ON THE SAHARAN HEEL-SHAPED CAIRN
During summer 1975, the writer's attention having been drawn to Scottish
heel-shaped cairns ( "HSCs"), it was resolved to re-visit certain Saharan sites, as well
as keeping a sharp lookout for others. As a result it has been possible to compile a
short list-probably in no way representative of true total dispersion-indicative of
the wide geographical distribution of constructions whose siting, orientation and
overall similarity of plan enables them to be termed HSCs. Dating of the Scottish
monuments, both in the Shetland Islands and on the Mainland, being as yet
problematical (Henshall, 1972, 286: 1974, 162), we are no more fortunate with
Saharan specimens. French nomenclature is complicated by a bewildering array of
intermediate types, some of which are neither the V-shapes nor crescents shown by
Monad ( 1948, 26) in West Sahara, nor yet the Haggar crescents-no less than six
varieties-cited by Denis (1959, 296). The latter's top centre monument (Fig. 1) is
somewhat similar in plan to Ward of Symbister Ness which, in Saharan terminology,
ranks as a crescent. Compare also Woisard (1955, 158).
No one has yet recognised the existence of HSCs outside Scottish territory nor
has the writer been lucky enough to sight a single French or Spanish excavation
report for any construction here tentatively labelled as such. The present remarks,
therefore, must sufice only to record some common features of Scottish and African
cairns, in the hope that ever-improving scientific techniques, especially in the realm
of dating, may enable investigations to be taken further at some future date.
Saharan HSCs (and, of course, crescents, V-shapes and constructions with arms
(or "monuments a bras" in French) tend to be sited on east-facing forward slopes,
atop knolls and even in open flat terrain with a good view ahead. They may be placed
across a col (Camps, 1974, Pl. XX, 2.) in the Western Haggar, a seemingly rare
occurrence also noted by R. Letan in the Moroccan Sahara and later shown to the
writer. Whole "fields" of crescents are not uncommon, at least in Central West
Mauritania, in South Central Algeria between Tamanrasset and In Guezzam, as also
in the Western A"ir zone of Niger, to judge only by personal observations.
While Henshall remarks (1963, 148) that the orientation of Shetland cairns is
notably consistent in a preference for the south-east, it appears too early to profer a
similar orientation in respect of the Sahara; it is however probable that a
predominant heading of between north-east and south-east may prove to be the rule,
always assuming that the numerous west-facing crescents of the far south of Algeria
and Western /\ir (Milburn, forthcoming) do not turn out to possess similarly
eccentric relations classifiable as HSCs. However, the orientation of those monu­ments
usually considered as being archaic (Camps, 1970, 239: Mauny, 1961, 88:
Milburn, 1976, 3 ), being composed wholly or partially of flat paving sometimes
surmounted by a tumulus (French: "dallages"), is believed to lie invariably within
the eastern half of the compass.
155
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
Since the list below attempts to compare the plan of each Saharan example with
that of at least one named Scottish site, there are certain additional features worthy
of note in passing. There can exist a larger stone or stones at the tips of Saharan
crescents (with two observed cases for HSCs) whose function can only be described
as architectural embellishment, unless the construction happens to stand on a steep
forward slope. This should not be confused with the Saharan practice of placing
three stones, in triangle pattern, at the tip of one arm only (Bessac, 1953, 1603), in
North-western Africa, whose purpose is still unknown. The former custom (Fig. 2)
is, however, suggestive of a tradition of the Scottish "upright stone" or "pillar
stones" at the extremities of the fas;ade (Bryce, 1940, 25, 28, 32).
Regarding mounds of stone placed before the front of Shetland facades,
presumably intended to convert the HSC into a round one (Henshall, 1970, 44 ), it
was noted that the Saharan site south of Gara Tesmad possesses a scatter of stones
just in front of the centre of the facade. And a seemingly-local feature of the
orientated monuments around Hassi el Khenig and Guelta Tiguelguemine, with one
example also in Oued Tiguelguemine, consists of small stones piled up right on the
"brow" of the construction, just behind the border of the fai;:ade and contiguous;
the zone covered is often not more than about two metres square. So far it is not
intended to attribute any special significance to this Saharan feature, which may
well prove to be wide-spread, although apparently unpublished. One platform cairn
("PC"-thanks are due to Miss A. S. Henshall for this nomenclature) two kilometres
south of Hassi el Khenig, to west of the main track, has a small stone pile six paces
outside its eastern border; it is not known whether this is a later addition. Reygasse
(1950, 72) reports finding a lone skull in a similar construction in Western Haggar,
describing it-as have other French authors-as a stone circle.
A further Saharan custom-that of prolonging one or both of the tips of a
crescent into long thin "tails"-does not occur to date in the few 'cairns seen;
nonetheless certain aerial photographs of parts of North-west Sahara, plus personal
observation in such widely-divergent zones as Choum (Central West Mauritania) and
In Guezzam (frontier of South Central Algeria with Niger) indicates a large area of
dispersion of this practice. Near In Guezzam in January 1976 the writer logged a
distance of around 280 paces, from the centre of one crescent to the apparent far
end of its southern tail, without being able-as yet-to ofer an explanation for this
spectacular phenomenon.
The most succinct excavation report yet observed, which concerns a crescent
rather than a HSC, is that given by Mercer (1976, 67). A crescentic tomb dug on
Cape Blanc (Mauritania) by a French schoolmaster had a small entrance leading into
a domed corbelled chamber: a crouched skeleton lay on the ground. For the benefit
of readers outside Scotland, there is every reason to hope that further examples of
HSCs will turn up on the Scottish Mainland.
I thank P. J. M. Geelan, Professor E. T. Hall, Miss A. S. Henshall, J. Mercer and
Professor Th. Monad for various information and communications, all of which have
proved invaluable in compiling this short resume. Only bare outline plans of Scottish
HSCs are given, based on those of Miss Henshall.
156
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
In conclusion, the following structures are ofered as examples of Saharan HSCs;
geographical positions taken from the Oficial Standard Names Gazetteer are
underlined:
Site
Ti-n Eddi,
Adrar n'Ahnet.
(Algeria)
Toufourine,
Erg Chech.
(Mali)
Hassi el Khenig.
(Algeria)
Ain Timellouka:
approx. 1 km East
of well.
(Morocco)
Haggar.
(Algeria)
Adrar Tighatimine
area.
(Algeria)
About 2 km south
of Gara Tesmad,
NW Tassili n'Ajer.
(Algeria)
Position
24 42 N
02 42 E
24 36 59 4 N
04 39 01 3 W
26 12 N
03 24 E
approx.
29 51 N
07 11 W
approx.
Unspecified.
25 50 30 N
03 32 00 E
approx.
25 39 N
07 45 E
Published or observed
details
"Half-moon, 8 x 10 m, paved;
central stone pile; facing E."
(Monad, 1932, 50 and fig. 7. E.)
"Crescent with very short arms,
12 x 9 m, facing South-east."
(Monad, 1948, 27 and fig. 35.)
(Fig. 3)
Flat open ground, overlooking
oued. 6.8 m x 5.8 m. Fa􀁟ade
lined by slabs on end. Small
stones piled on "brow".
Faces 100° .
(Fig. 4)
Generally similar to the
examples above, in flat
open ground. Very delap­idated.
One of six possible crescent­shapes
shown by Denis (1959,
296, top left-hand type.)
(Fig. 1)
Beside track, on knoll, on west
side. Flat platform with delap­idated
stone pile at centre ( sus­pected
to be a later addition.)
12 x 5 m approx. Large stones at
north end of fa􀁟ade, possibly
disturbed by track-construction.
Faces 115° .
(Fig. 5)
On forward slope below steep hill,
overlooking a oued. Flat platform,
some 84 paces between tips, paced
over rough ground. 48 paces wide.
Outline
Plan comparison
with Scottish
HSCs
Muckle Heog
West/Ward of
Silwick/Vementry.
As above.
As above.
As above.
Hill of Dale.
(A second example
by Denis-shown
at top centre-re­calls
Ward of Sym­bister
Ness.)
Islesburgh (less
chamber and
passage.)
Punds Water
(less chamber and
passage.)
157
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
Site
Guelta Tiguelguemine.
(Algeria)
Position
26 13 N
03 32 E
Published or observed
details
Central tumulus, 8 paces north to
south and 50 cm high over platform.
Faces 95° ,
(Fig. 6)
Built over a trough at foot of a steep
mound: monument is flat in relation
to curving ground-surface.
19 paces x 10 paces. Tip of each arm
about 50 cm wide. Larger stone at
Outline
Plan comparison
with Scottish
HSCs
Gateside (The
Giant's Grave.)
each tip. Small stones piled on "brow".
Faces 90° .
Note that the heights above ground level, of the platforms personally-observed, are
in the order of 30-50 ems only.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BESSAC, H:
1953 Contribution a l'inventaire prehistorique du Sahara occidental, Bulletin de l'Institut
Fondamental de l'Afrique Noire, XV, Dakar.
BRYCE, T. H:
1940 The so-called heel-shaped cairns of Shetland, with remarks on the chambered tombs of
Orkney and Shetland, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, LXXIV,
Edinburgh.
CAMPS,G:
1970 Notes de Protohistoire Nord-africaine et Saharienne. V. Dates absolues concernant la
Protohistoire du Maghreb et du Sahara, Libyca, XVIII, Algiers.
1974 Les civilisations prehistoriques de l'Afrique du Nord et du Sahara, Doin Editeurs, Paris.
DENIS, P:
1959 Tombes preislamiques en croissant du Hoggar, Bulletin de Liaison Saharienne, 36, Algiers.
HENSHALL, A. S:
1963 The Chambered Tombs of Scotland, I, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
1970 The Long Cairns of Eastern Scotland, Scottish Archaeological Forum, 2, Edinburgh.
1972 The Chambered Tombs of Scotland, 2, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
1974 Scottish chambered tombs and long mounds, IN C. RENFREW (ed.), British Prehistory. A
New Outline, Duckworth, London.
MAUNY, R:
1961 Tableau geographique de l'Ouest Africain au Moyen Age d'apres les sources ecrites, la
tradition et l'archeologie, Memoires de l'Institut Fondamental de l'Afrique Noire, no. 61,
Dakar.
MERCER,]:
1976 Spanish Sahara, Alen and Unwin, London.
MILBURN, M:
1976 Two enigmatic constructions of Western Al"r, I. C.-Nachrichten, Nr. 21, Graz.
1976 On smal dry-stone cairns of parts of Arabia, Algeria and Western Ai'r, Proceedings of the
Seminar for Arabian Studies, London.
158
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
MONOD,TH:
1932 L' Adrar Ahnet. Contribution a l'etude archeologique d'un district saharien, Institut
d'Ethnologie, Paris.
1948 Sur quelques monuments lithiques du Sahara occidental, Actas y Memorias de la Sociedad
Espafiola de Antropologfa, Etnologfa y Prehistoria, XXIII, cuadernos 1-4, Madrid.
PRADO, R:
1975 Las Taulas Menorquinas. Monumento Unico en el Mundo, Boledn Informativo de la
Asociaci6n Espafiola de los Amigos de la Arqueologfa, numero 4, Madrid.
REYGASSE, M:
1950 Monuments funeraires preislamiques de l'Afrique du Nord, Arts et Metiers Graphiques,
Paris.
WOISARD, A:
1955 Monuments ante-islamiques dans le Sahara occidental, Bulletin de Liaison Saharienne, 21,
Algiers.
Fig. 1: Six varieties of crescents found in the Hoggar, Algeria. (After Denis).
Fig. 3: HSC at Toufourine. (After Monod).
159
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
Fig. 2: Crescent of South Algeria with large stone at tip of south arm. Photo Milburn.
Fig. 4: HSC at Hassi el Khenig. Photo Milburn.
160
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
Fig. 5: Heel-shaped platform at Adrar Tighatimine. Note tumular addition. Photo Milburn.
Fig. 6: HSC south of Gara Tesmad. Photo Milburn.
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
Fig. 7: HSC at Guelta Tiguelguemine. Note small stones piled on "brow". Photo Milburn.
,. i
'
'I :
I
􀀋􀬭- ---------􀀌􀰠
Fig. 8: Muckle Heog West.
Fig. 10: Vementry (less chamber).
,,,-------7)
,," " .·
' I
' I
I I
'
I
I
I
I
\,,'-,-.,,o = l
􀀅􀔠
Fig. 9: Ward of Silwick.
/,.,.,.-;
I
I
I
I
I '
\\,_􀀅􀔠
Fig. 11: Hill of Dale.
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
,-- --􀀇􀜬,p
\
. di'\ " ·.. ., "' . ·. --􀀇􀜠
Fig. 12: Ward of Symbister Ness.
,
,
\ I
Fig. 14: Punds Water (less chamber and passage).
􀀈􀡯og
,---- / 0 , 0
D
Fig. 13: Islesburgh (less chamber and passage).
.6,',,.
-- --'&- - 27
Fig. 15: Gateside.
Fig. 16: Small crescents, facing both west and east, near in Guezzam. Photo Milburn.
163
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
N
t
0 40
Fig. 17: Apparent likely position of various monuments in relation to high ground: -
1. HSCs.
2. Tumulus on a platform ("tumulus sur plateforme".) (sometimes sited close together).
3. Keyhole tomb ("monument en trou de serrure".)
4. South Algerian crescents (facing west as well as east).
5. Air crescents (facing west as well as east).
6. Central West Mauritanian crescents.
7. Giant crescents and "V-shapes" of West Sahara.
un-numbered. Various crescents, "V-shapes" and "monuments a bras".
164
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017
• IN SALAH
• Hassi el Khenig
Ad rar
N'Ahnet
• Guel ta Tiguelguemine
• Adrar Tighatimine
• Arak
􀁅􄔠 Toufourine, MALI
700 kms approx.
• Gara Tesmad
Tassili N'Ajjer
DJANET •
H o g g a r
• Tamanrasset
A L G E R
'------,
I
(.
<
I
l
I
.
.._,,,,,,,,.
-
Sahara HSCs. Sketch map.
-
-
-
A
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
,."' N G E R
/
/
/
/
/
__ !'rn Guezzam Western Air
-, • IFEROUANE
40 kms
• ARLIT
/
/
/
Northern Scotland showing A. Shetland. B. Orkney.
© Del documento, los autores. Digitalización realizada por ULPGC. Biblioteca, 2017