Recent archaeological research revealed the existence of several fresh-water lakes, known as palaeolakes, in ancient Fezzan, Libya. Some of these lakes were located in the southern regions of Wadi Irawan, Wadi al-Ajal and the Ubari Sand Sea. The archaeological finds from the area include dark layers of organic matters, shells, hand axes and other Palaeolithic and Neolithic implements and tools which strongly suggested ancient human activity in Fezzan. These lakes were part of a larger network of lakes which have included the legendary nearby Lake Tritonis and Lake Chad among numerous other smaller lakes.
Precise dating of the lakes is yet to be confirmed, but current studies, conducted by the Fezzan Project, suggest Pleistocene and Holocene human presence. However, results from Wadi al-Ajal's playas (: which are mud flats with rough surface, cracks and salt encrustation, like the Playa of Germa which represent the lakes just before drying out) indicate these lakes to have disappeared around 3000 years ago.
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Findings from the lakes also suggest that the impressive sand dunes of the Ubari Sand Sea are at least 100,000 years old. Numerous lakes were thought to have covered the eastern and southern regions of the sea, some of which still exist today, as in the case of Gaberoun (or Gabroun), Umm al-Maa and Maafu, where the land surface intercepts the water table.
The main river systems that fed the giant lake: Tasilli N�Ajjer and Hamada Mangueni. The locations of the current Ubari lakes are situated near the middle of the above lake; probably left over as the mother-lake slowly evaporated away into thin air. 09 more images after the break...
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