Cave Tadrart-Akakus, Libya

In the Cave Tadrart-Akakus, Sahara Desert, Lybia, were also found traces from the petroglyphic drawings and pictures. That claims that thousand years ago the territory of the present dessert had some water reservoirs and was suitable for living. The oldest drawings were made about 12 000 years ago. They were found in the caves from these mountain ranges. There were depicted crocodiles, giraffes, rhinos. There was time when the area near the mountain range was full of plants, trees and bushes.

Within the time these places were absorbed with the dessert. The scientists suppose that the last people tribes left these places in 100 AD. All tourists who come here can’t forget these landscapes for a long period time. In the Tadrart-Akakus area you can see not only the ancient caves with the petroglyphs but also the picturesque sand dunes and rocky arches. Once this desert area was full of water. There were several strong rivers, they had left their traces. Now we can see their corridors on the ground.

In 1985 the petroglyphs from the Cave Tadrart-Akakus were included in a list of the world heritage of UNESCO. The drawings show us how the surrounding landscapes and how they had been changing within thousand years. At the beginning of the 21st century, the archaeological monument was in a danger. There was a threat of its full destroy. Near the mountain range were found the reservoirs of oil. In order to get them, workers have to make some underground explosions. They were made so heavy shots that caused the destroying of the several rocks, which included the rocks with the petroglyphs. Next - Laas Geel Cave