It's a while since I've had one of these, and not in response to anything specific - I've been very inactive on #WesternSahara lately. Must be a quiet day on a troll farm somewhere in #Morocco.
Anyway, I have a rule that whenever I'm trolled by agents of the #Moroccan state, I post photos of the Sahrawi controlled areas of #WesternSahara, to highlight the conflict & #Morocco's partition of this non-self-governing territory. Here's the view from Tin Gfuf, Southern Sector
A low granite outcrop, near Tin Gfuf, Southern Sector of the Polisario controlled Liberated Territories of #WesternSahara.
More of the landscape around Tin Gfuf, Southern Sector of the Polisario controlled Liberated Territories of #WesternSahara.
The most southerly example of a 'goulet' monument, at Tin Gufuf, some 300km south of any other such monuments recorded in the #Sahara, as far as I'm aware. Part of the the rich & fascinating #archaeology & #heritage or #WesternSahara.
#Archaeology in post-1975 #WesternSahara has been hampered by Morocco's occupation, the 1975-1991 war, then Moroccan mines & munitions, & now renewed fighting after Morocco breached the ceasefire & Polisario responded by attacking its wall & military bases. So no work there now.
Having just been at a #heritage #LossAndDamage conference @CFAAA4, I'm thinking about threats to heritage, climate & non-climate. The conflict in #WesternSahara poses some serious threats to its remarkable archaeological heritage.
Back in 2007, we came across important rock art sites vandalised by UN peacekeepers.
We recorded burial #monuments reworked as gun emplacements. #Conflict & #Heritage #WesternSahara
Many monuments are low-relief, and highly vulnerable to disturbance & destruction by military & other vehicles. Goulets are an example, but also stone rings & lines, half-circles, platforms, enclosures, and low-lying burial monuments. #Conflict & #Heritage #WesternSahara
Some these appear unique in the Sahara or elsewhere, including apparent pictograms made from different coloured stone, integrated into goulet monuments, possibly depicting animals. #Conflict & #Heritage #WesternSahara
Prehistoric occupation sites are also appealing to military personal, as they provide shelter, increasing risks of damage. Near Tifariti, Moroccan trenches are dug through areas rich in archeology. #Conflict & #Heritage #WesternSahara
The #conflict in #WesternSahara means limited capacity & resources for #heritage management, which remains a low priority. @UNESCO won't touch it because of the politics around #WorldHeritageSites in #Morocco. So this unique archaeological record remains at risk.
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