Djara Cave

Location:

Djara Cave is located in the Egyptian Limestone Plateau in the Western Desert approximately halfway between Asyut in the east and the Oasis Farafra in the west, the only other similar situation known in Egypt is the 13m deep cave in the Wadi el Obeiyd near the Farafra Oasis.

Discovery and research:

Djara was first recorded by the explorer Gerhard Rohlfs year 1875. His intention was to reach the Kufra Oasis in Libya with his interdisciplinary expedition; the headman of his caravan led him near a place called “Djara”, which Rohlfs described as a spacious dripstone cave with magnificent stalactites. No further details were given – also not about the rock art in the cave – and later researchers seem not to have taken this report seriously since, for nearly 120 years, the cave appears to have been ignored.

 In 1989 Carlo Bergmann, a “modern” camel nomad, rediscovered the Djara dripstone cave and for the first time described engravings inside the cavern and reported about facially retouched stone tools scattered around its entrance. The first archaeological surveys and test excavations were carried out during the years 1990 and 1993 by an interdisciplinary group of researchers from Berlin and Cairo in 1996. From 1998 until 2002, the archaeological investigations on the Egyptian Limestone Plateau were intensified by the ACACIA-project year from 2002 to 2004 and from 2006. During two of these campaigns in 1999 and 2000, the rock art in the Djara cave was recorded in detail. Until today only parts of this documentation were presented in articles and preliminary reports.

 The Djara cave The actual entrance to the dripstone cave is just a narrow opening in the level limestone ground lying in a characteristic shallow basin. Here, the ceiling collapsed and gave access to the cave. Behind the entrance, along a sandy slope leads to a kind of terrace with a large stalagmite densely covered with engravings and later on to a large cavern hall, with marvelous stalactites. Altogether, the cave system can be grouped into three different spaces.

The first-level “hall of the gazelles “is 4-5m under the surface) is directly behind the entrance. This 11 x 7m large and around 3m high space

The second level “gallery of the engravings” is 7-8m below the surface. This room reaches west of the sand ramp along the west wall of the cave and ends in the south at a gallery, whose south-western part is collapsed.

Third level “large hall” from the hall of the gazelles, on past the gallery and over the sand ramp towards the south, which has a present level of 12-13m under the surface.

The large hall has an almost quadratic area with an edge of 30m and a height of 5-6m and has two levels.

The Lower level, consists of 2 to 6m thick sand deposits over the solid rock, as verified by ground-penetrating radar profiles.  Show signs of Aeolian sorting which was presumably deposited during periods with more arid conditions.

The upper level, where the sand deposits are up to 2.5m thick, was formed during more humid conditions. Whether this is an indication of a fundamental climatic change, and if so when it exactly took place, is still uncertain. OSL-analysis of the lower layer yielded a pre-Holocene age. during the period of prehistoric settlement nearly no sedimentation occurred. The rock art of Djara is not covered by sinter anywhere, which indicates that the karst processes were no longer active during that time.

 Engraved and pecked rock art

In the surveys and documentation of the rock art of Djara are a total of 133 figures are known. Rock art was created through engraving, pecking, or a combination of both techniques. Almost 80% of the figures are in the hall of the gazelles and 19% in the gallery of the engravings. There are hardly any Figures in the large hall. The dominant motifs in Djara are animal figures with over 85%. However, the definite assignment of each figure to a specific animal is often difficult, since their depiction is frequently very abstract. In the Egyptian Western Desert, the engraved and pecked rock art often shows very little detail and is quite abstract, although certain animals such as birds, giraffes, camels, but also humans, are easy to identify due to their clear characteristics. The fact that the figures have sparse details and abstract depictions is the reason that up to now there has been rather little scientific interest in the figures. “The main reason for this neglect is undoubtedly the fact that several other African rock art traditions surpass their Egyptian counterparts from the aesthetic point of view. In this respect, Egyptian rock art has always been considered inferior to the neighboring central Saharan rock paintings and engravings.” (Thus, in Djara the attributes were analyzed to obtain clarity on the depicted animal figures. The shape and form of the horns depicted turned out to be especially significant, as also the length of the horns. In the end, the single attributes of the horns were combined into three combinations spiral/long, straight/long, or convex/long and straight/short horns. A comparison of these horn shapes with wild animals that live or lived in comparable climatic conditions in the Egyptian Western Desert, revealed that the spiral/longhorn depictions correspond to the addax antelope, the straight/long or convex/longhorns to the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx gazelle dammah) and the straight/short horns to the orcas or dame gazelles (Gazella Dorcas, Gazella dama). It could not be clarified which animal the depictions of the cloven-hoofed animals without horns represented. It was much easier to identify the ostrich, which – as also the cloven-hoofed animals – is shown as a side view. Human figures appear as isolated line draw, marked are the panels with rock art.  Most frequent motifs depicted in the Djara rock art (pecked surfaces are grey-shaded, engravings are illustrated by thin black lines and areal scratching is light grey shaded).

HALL OF THE GAZELLE 

LARGE HALL OF THE ENGRAVINGS  INCLUDING horned oryx Dorcas gazelle/ dama gazelle addax antelope ostrich human with flambeau-shaped motif either as complete “enface”-views or with outstretched arms with another figure that starts at the end of the arms. Another figure seems to depict a torch as an elongated, upside-down triangle with an upper part that bends to the left – as seen by the viewer – and ends in a roof-like top. Its relevance is unknown since similar figures are not known yet in the Sahara. Such figures will be called “flambeau-shaped motifs” in the text. In addition, there are zigzag lines, grid patterns, vertical line bundles, and erratic lines, which, except for the zigzag lines, were all engraved. Among the 133 figures in Djara, besides indeterminate cloven-hoofed animals (23.3%), scimitar-horned oryx (19.5%), addax (15.8%) and ostrich (16.5%) dominate. Then there are gazelles (6.8%) and human figures (6.0%). The flambeau-shaped motifs account for 3.8%. Zigzag lines (2.3%), grid patterns, vertical line bundles, and erratic lines (each 1.5%) are found the least.

 The archaeological context in the cave

 In addition to the rock art, human activity in the dripstone cave is evidenced by an up to 10cm thick layer of fine-grained ash and charcoal sediment that was excavated Due to the small number of artifacts found in combination with the large number of hearths that indicate a repeat usage, this site cannot be interpreted as a mundane settlement site, but rather served most likely as a site for more ritual purposes. Notable is also the high number of bone fragments from small bovid/gazelles. The majority of the bone pieces are darkly stained due to charcoal or ash rests and some have scorch marks. Several parallel cut marks on the outer side of a scorched fragment of a long bone indicate that the animal was slaughtered. Directly under the flambeau-shaped motif, a cervical vertebra (atlas) of either an addax or a scimitar-horned oryx was found. In addition, a Chambardia shell that showed traces of having been subjected to heat was also found. Such mollusk shells are known from other excavations outside of the dripstone cave. They were probably used to carry hot embers and are frequently excavated in connection with hearths. The archaeobotanical determination adduced primarily Acacia, Tamarix, and Capparaceae species (archaeobotanical determinations by Stefanie Nussbaum). Scorched rests of fruits from Anastatica hierochuntica have special relevance since they indicate the influence of the winter rain regimes in this region during the mid-Holocene. For the same period, Capparaceae are evidence for the advancement of the summer rain boundary to the north. It is possible that the Djara region was a kind of overlap area of both climate regions during the Holocene wet phase. However, the winter rain indicator has an important function as a settlement indicator, since the settlement of the region can be expected due to the moderate winter temperatures. Next to the excavated finds, near the flambeau-shaped motif, multiple bruins were found in a cleft of a stalactite.

In addition, a core was stuck between two stalagmites. The fact that both artifacts were found indicates anthropogenic action and that accidental deposition is unlikely. In addition to a possible ritual relevance of the artifacts, purely pragmatic explanations are also possible; special objects that are placed in a particular spot can be found in the darkness of a cave much more easily. The excavation finds from the dripstone cave adduced three dates, two of which originated from charcoal pieces that were excavated (quartzite sandstone) from the niche in the ceiling above the gallery.

The third date originates from a fragment of a domesticated sheep/goat tooth that was found in a charcoal layer. All three dates verify the concept, already conceived through archaeological excavations, of an unstratified charcoal layer, which indicates repeated fires over a longer period. In conclusion, according to our present knowledge, the particular attractiveness of the gallery as a kind of main activity zone within the cave can be derived from several factors. First, the gallery is in the boundary area of the half-shade zone, where simple manual activities and orientation are possible because of the natural daylight. Second, the gallery is a relatively flat area and thus well-suited for the human habitat. In addition, it has an exposed position within the cave system, since only from this location is it possible to look into the entrance area with the hall of the gazelles and the gallery of the engravings as well as – after the eyes have become used to the dark – parts of the large hall.

 Archaeological context around the cave

The vicinity around the cave was intensely surveyed in an approximately 20 km² large area from the years 1998 to 2002 Typical for the environment of a Limestone Plateau, The predominant landforms are undulating to flat surfaces with shallow pans and basins (up to a depth of about 20 m) with rounded limestone hilltops and remnants of ancient lake deposits (so-called “playa sediments”). The latter were deposited during the Holocene humid phase when this area obtained more precipitation than today. However, for the most part, the environment on this plateau is predominantly stony desert (so-called “hamada”), where vegetation is normally sparse and today mostly contracted.

During these survey activities, altogether more than 240 prehistoric sites were documented. Although after the hyper-arid Pleistocene, the settlement activity in the Djara area already began around early Holocene sites, the greatest share of the sites can be dated to the mid-Holocene.

For Djara, this period can be divided into two major occupation units, named Djara A  and Djara B . Radiocarbon dates and related archaeological sites decreased rapidly indicating the depopulation of the desert as a result of the drying up of the Eastern Sahara. A final occupation unit, named Final Djara B, may represent short-term revivals of precipitation. However, the very small sites display only sporadic occupations, while larger campsites, which are characteristic of the former chronological units, do not exist. Altogether, such a concentration of prehistoric sites points to local favor. It was not possible to carry out deep soundings in the sand ramp in the hall of the gazelles Because the ramp there is an essential part of the static and shifting of the sand could cause the Cave to collapse. Due to this, an archaeological artifact layer in this area cannot be excluded.

 Conclusion

Similarities between the rock art of Djara and other North-East African rock art sites are hard to find in terms of style and theme. The isolated position of the Djara rock art in the center of the Egyptian Limestone Plateau, where there are no other rock art depictions in the surrounding distance of about 250 km, makes any comparative approach highly challenging. In terms of techniques, Djara appears to be generally connected to the tradition of rock engravings of wild fauna (Winkler’s style of the “Earliest Hunters” that dominate most of the Western Desert, in particular the oases in the southern and western periphery of the Limestone Plateau. Even more challenging is the fact that engravings found in great numbers in the oases’ regions at Kharga, Dakhla, and Farafra have yet not been dated with much certainty, though some previous assumptions point to dating within the Holocene humid phase or slightly later. Despite the simple congruence in the techniques of incising and pecking, the only distinctive aspect to connect Djara with the engravings further south and west is the great number of the typical larger desert or dry savannah animals that represented the real environment during the Holocene humid phase. The only remarkable exception is the giraffe, which is most frequent as a motif at the sites of the oases and the desert further southwest but is absent among the depictions in the cave of Djara. Giraffes are known as animals that live in the southern sub-Saharan savannahs, but often penetrate the deserts when they can feed on fresh plant leaves. However, it is not likely that giraffes spread further north as the oases bow due to diminishing summer rains, temperature, acacia vegetation, and sandy desert landscapes. This might explain why no giraffes were depicted at Djara, implying that the rock art during that time mainly stressed depicting what virtually existed in the Western Desert's large fauna. The shortcoming of the results of the rock art study at Djara is the fact that no direct dating is given for the depictions. Some arguments, however, can be listed from the contextual evidence of the cave itself and the habitation sites in its vicinity, which help to establish a frame of reference for the chronological position:

(1) A time frame in absolute dates is given by the occupational history of the Djara area that is closely linked to climatic development. Although the onset of humid conditions at the beginning of the early Holocene are not well substantiated at Djara, some Epipalaeolithic finds connected to 14C- indicate human activities during the early Holocene. The bulk of open-air sites and connected dates, however, fall into the mid-Holocene units Djara A and B. With the beginning of the drying trend large habitation sites disappear. Only very sporadic and short-termed human activities are indicated during the Final Djara B unit.  Before progressing, aridity finally stopped human subsistence on the Egyptian Limestone Plateau.

(2) Artifacts date from the cave itself where they have been found near the rock depictions fit well into the picture derived from the seasonal camps outside the cave. Three dates from the ashy layer on the terrace document activities during the late Epipalaeolithic, the end of unit Djara A and the Final Djara B respectively. The burin found in a small rock niche above the terrace can probably be affiliated to the Epipalaeolithic, while some flaked flints may point to a Djara A or Djara B age. In the light of these dates, it is suggested that the cave was integrated into human activities as long as habitation took place in the surroundings of the cave.

(3) In looking for possible stylistic and thematic parallels among the rock art in the Western Desert, there is some reason to connect the Djara depictions with the complex of incised wild fauna in the Egyptian oases and the deserts beyond. This is currently the only parallel that appears from the corpus of known sites in the Western Desert. Although only a vague outline in absolute dating of the rock art, there is some consensus to affiliate the wild fauna – better known from Winkler’s chronological sequence as “Earliest Hunters” to the Holocene humid period or slightly later, possibly to the Bashendi B unit at Dakhla Oasis. This approach appears to be plausible in the light of the contextual dating evidence from Djara.