Recipient Dr Aurélie Cuénod, University of Leicester
Date 01 October, 2015
Amount £2808
Summary Building on previous archaeological research in Fazzan, south-western Libya, the Trans-Sahara Project aims at understanding the relationship of the Garamantes with neighbouring region in the Pre-Islamic period, with one of its focuses being the study of ancient trade within the region. I have been employed as a post-doc on the project working on metal artefacts and have already carried out some analyses with ERC funding. The results have demonstrated the potential benefits of extending the analytical work further, though there is no further budget for this within the ERC grant. I am therefore applying to the SLS for the analytical costs. My time will be covered by the ERC budget.
Copper alloys were undoubtedly one of the resources being traded by the Garamantes. Indeed while of copper objects have been recovered at various sites in Fazzan, there are no copper mineral resources in the vicinity, indicating an import from elsewhere.