Scope

Fragmented boulder at base of escarpment on end of small promontory at mouth of small embayment (Bird wadi) off Wadi Al-Ajal. Rock very eroded and damaged by exfoliation, especially on E face. Three surfaces of boulder are carved. FUG114A carvings on variably sloping surface.

Arrangement

Seven ostriches, cow, quadruped, indeterminate, pecking: In main portion of panel are pecked outlines of two striding ostriches with long legs and long necks, bent diagonally down to the right as if grazing. The right hand ostrich has a large tail and wing markings. The left hand ostrich has a second head, with beak and eye, added to its tail so that it appears to be facing left. Pecked outline of an indeterminate figure, perhaps a stylised anthropomorph or cow, has been added to the back of this ostrich. Surface pecking around image. To the left is a pecked indeterminate shape. Pecked outline of a cow with upward curving horns, apparently emerging from a natural fissure, is superimposed over the head of this ostrich, and between the legs of the right hand ostrich. Above the right hand ostrich is pecked outline of a quadruped facing right with rounded feet and belly, head and neck indistinct. Situated vertically down the curved edge of the panel (illustrated) are pecked outlines of five running ostriches, one above the other. All have necks and heads bent back, and the lower three have widely spread legs, as if in rapid motion. The bodies and legs of the upper two birds are not depicted. Possibly a mythical scene (eg the ostrich has supernatural powers to the people of the Dogon tribes of Mali and Kung Bushmen).

Biographical history

Deposited with the Society for Libyan Studies Online Archive by Tertia Barnett in 2019