Rock Art

dedicated to my father Dr. Ahmed Achrati

In my recent review and documentation of photos from past trips to Algeria, I’ve come across a number of visits to prehistoric carvings and etchings in the areas surrounding El Bayadh. These day trips were a part of a broad effort on the part of my father to document and analyze rock art in his ancestral homeland. In late 2022 he published the book Rock Art of the Qsur and ‘Amour Mountains, Algeria: A Cognitive Approach which includes many of his photos from these visits.

As an umbrella term, ‘Rock Art‘ or ‘Parietal Art’ covers many types of prehistoric artwork, including cave paintings and carvings/etchings made into rock surfaces. These artifacts are found all over the world, including numerous UNESCO world heritage sites. Some of the best examples can be found in protected environments devoid of large human populations or heavy rains/extreme temperature swings. The Saharan Atlas region between Aflou and Ain Sefra is home to a large number of rock art carvings and etchings (large enough for this region to have its own Wikipedia page), including the sites shown in red below (note El Bayadh in the upper-middle portion of the map):

Our past visits to local rock art included some of these sites, mostly focusing on those located between El Bayadh and Brezina. The photos below span from 2008 to 2019, with each trip using a different generation of digital camera to capture the images (point-and-shoot digital, Canon DSLR, iPhone, Nikon DSLR). All photos from 2008 – 2017 were take by Ahmed Achrati or the author.

2008