Algeria and Libya are home to some of the world's most significant ancient rock art.
12,000–2,000 B.C.E.
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Ancient Sabratha
A Phoenician trading-post that served as an outlet for the products of the African hinterland, and which was Romanized in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
Al Qal’a of Beni Hammad (mosque)(UNESCO/NHK)
The mosque, whose prayer room has 13 aisles with eight bays, is one of the largest in Algeria.
Rock Art in the Green Sahara (Africa)
Rock art is one of the best records of the life of past peoples who lived across the Sahara.
Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus
These images reveal how the Sahara changed from rich grassland to inhospitable desert over thousands of years.
Running Horned Woman, Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria
Who is this mysterious running horned woman, painted in a secluded, difficult to access part of Tassili?
Rock Art in North Africa
Tassili n’Ajjer’s “forests of stone” are the site of painted and engraved images, some up to 12,000 years old.
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!