One of the many typical V-antennae in the south of Morocco. The comparison with the camper van shows the dimensions. (Thanks to Susan and Stephan - bottom left - from cantone-libero.ch for providing the photo.) See at Google Maps >
Next to the stone circles, antennas are the most widespread structures in the Sahara. They come in very different forms, but have one thing in common: From a central chamber, the tumulus, arms spread out on two sides, which seemed like antennae to the first archaeological discoverers. The main forms are the so-called "V-antenna", which has a clear angle, and the arch-shaped "croissant"(crescent). There are also some variations and mixed forms of these two basic types.
V-antenna monument in Oued Imirhou, north of Ajjer Plateau (Algeria). Photos: Yves Gauthier, email:
Antennas are distributed all over the Sahara from Niger in the southeast, to the Atlantic coast of Morocco in the northwest. In the majority of cases, the angular opening of the antennas points to the east. Only about ten to fifteen percent of the antenas are turned exactly 180° and oriented to the west. The dating of some V-type antennae gave an age of between 3,000 and 4,000 years. Croissants appear to be even older. Tests there have shown between 4,000 and 6,000 years.
Images courtesy of Google Earth™
Beyond that, not much else is known about these monuments. Many of them were graves, others were not. Did the different forms all originate from the same line of development or did they develop independently at several sites? Could a single pastoralist or nomadic people have spread these monuments over such a large land area, or were different peoples and cultures at work here? Many questions to which archaeology still has no answers.
