KITES IN LIBYA
Tripoli / Misrata
In the area south of Tripoli and Misrata, many open kites are distributed over an area of around 30,000 square kilometres, their funnels running in elegant arcs through the plain. These are so-called V-shaped kites, as they have been found as far away as the Sinai and also in Israel and northern Arabia, more than 3,000 kilometres away. At their end there is usually a single round, or sometimes rectangular, pitfall. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any dating so far, so it is not clear how old these structures are. To me, they make a rather recent impression.(Geographical coordinates below the pictures.)
Images courtesy of Google Earth™
Scientific publication by Gianelli/Maestrucci, oct. 2019 >
Ghadames / Hamada de Tinrhert
South of Ghadames, the Tinrhert Plateau stretches westwards far into Algeria. In my opinion, it's not possible to say clearly from above whether the jagged structures are really all game traps. Some things almost seem like a simple crack in the rock. Structures that at first glance seemed man-made have often turned out to be of natural origin on closer inspection, or vice versa. Here the geologists are in demand and only an investigation on the ground can bring clarity.(Geographical coordinates below the pictures.)
Images courtesy of Google Earth™
Scientific publication by Gianelli/Maestrucci, aug. 2018 >
Wadi ash Shati'
In the Wadi ash Shati', some of the funnel-shaped converging lines that led the game to the trap can still be seen in various places. So far, however, I am not aware of any place there where the trapping area is also present and clearly recognisable.(Geographical coordinates below the pictures.)
Images courtesy of Google Earth™
These pictures are only a small selection. All the objects I found are included in the following download (Google Earth required): Download placemarks of about 1.350 kites >
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