Arabist's Sahara as Palimpsest reveals fascinating facts

The Arts Society Newbury lecture: The Sahara as Palimpsest by Eamonn Gearon on Tuesday, June 21. Review by JACKIE CHAMBERLAIN

The Arabist Eamonn Gearon has spent much of his life working and travelling in the Middle East, “from Kabul to Casablanca”, a lot of it on a camel. He is the author of many books on the area, a regular lecturer at universities and other institutions and has recently been elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, as well currently studying for a PhD.

The intriguing title of his lecture refers to parchments or tablets being scraped or otherwise erased and over-written or repainted, palimpsest – a word derived from Ancient Greek.

Having given us the amazing facts of the age, size and composition of the world’s largest hot desert (wider than the Atlantic Ocean, dunes 15 per cent, mountains 15 per cent, limestone plains 70 per cent), he went on to describe the fantastic rock art found in the Sahara by reference to distinct periods, stretching back well over 10,000 years, all illustrated with superb slides. There are petroglyphs (engravings or carvings) and pictographs (paintings) or a combination of the two, which have been protected from the ravages of time by the topography of the area and its remoteness.

The oldest are hunting scenes, followed by a series of strange intricately carved or painted round-headed beings, the explanations for which range from drug induced fantasy, artistic vision or alien sightings. The cattle/pastoral period dates from 7,500 to 5,000 BCE with images of antelopes and giraffes as well as cattle, many of which are huge and show evidence of over-painting. Then came the introduction of horses, followed by camels which were shown as used in battle.

One of the earliest depictions of the Sahara in print was the Catalan Atlas from 1375, showing the first use of the compass rose. Artists were also drawn to paint in the area, particularly Henri Matisse and Paul Klee. There have also been a large number of films set in the Sahara, although most were shot in Arizona or California.

Eamonn Gearon’s easy manner of delivery and use of anecdote, together with well-chosen slides, brought his subject vividly to life and prompted a lively range of questions.