Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Aron Mazel
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).
The first rock art World Heritage Site designated on the African continent was the Ethiopian site of Tiya (1980). It was the third rock art site of this kind globally. Since then, another 12 African rock art sites have been inscribed on the World Heritage List with the last being another Ethiopian site, Gedeo, in 2023. This paper addresses the processes that informed the designation of these African sites as well as their safeguarding. It shows that UNESCO played an important role in encouraging their designation beginning with Tiya. Thereafter, the threats to the rock art sites are investigated followed by issues surrounding their management, including interpretation, community engagement, and the paucity of resources for their protection. This is done by drawing on input from colleagues with responsibilities for their management along with incorporating insights from academic and grey literature. It is shown that these non-renewable sites are vulnerable to damage and destruction from multiple natural (including zoological) and human sources, with the threats deriving primarily from the latter, which appear to be mostly unintended, such as the kicking up of dust and the making of fires within sites, although wilful acts of vandalism and looting are known. Current and possible future community involvement in the safeguarding of resources is addressed along with different ways in which this and other management interventions can be enhanced.
Author(s): Mazel A
Editor(s): di Lernia S
Publication type: Book Chapter
Publication status: Published
Book Title: Echoes of Africa’s Past. Archaeological explorations in the Anthropocene. An Anthology for 70 Years of the Libyan-Italian Mission in the Acacus and Messak (1955-2025).
Year: 2025
Volume: 10
Pages: 199-225
Online publication date: 15/06/2025
Acceptance date: 02/03/2025
Series Title: Arid Zone Archeology - Monographs
Publisher: All’Insegna del Giglio
Place Published: Sesto Fiorentino
URL: https://www.insegnadelgiglio.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/9788892853607.pdf
Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item
ISBN: 9788892853591
