Atlantis Together (@atlantistogether) View the profile and 3D models by Atlantis Together (@atlantistogether). 🌍 Explore & discuss the most likely location of Atlantis🔱: The Richat Structure - "Eye of the Sahara" 🔎 Visit our website for more info sketchfab.com⁠

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Söri drone - Google Drive⁠

Drone pictures ruin fortress

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UwlwbI9wfVCjNDaIGqWLIiEJGSGPrVgo/view?usp=sharing⁠

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In my research I have only found one professional archaeologist,

Sarah Parcak⁠

, who has given her opinion on three of these ruins as an estimate based on satellite images, without physically visiting and dating the site. In the (monetized) documentary

National Geographic - Atlas of Cursed Places⁠

, Parcak estimated the ruins to date from anywhere between 8.000 - 5.000 BP, based on the large size of the structures, one measuring 60 by 90 metres, and the other two being around 60 by 55 metres. Since the ruins seem to show evidence of what might have been animal pens for cattle, this would have implied that a very large herd of more than 100 animals was being kept there as a more permanent settlement. This would also imply the presence of water wells, trade and food for the people who built these large walled enclosures, which also seem to display defensive towers along the corners and edges, and small structures in the centre which might have served a storage purpose. From this she derived her estimated age of the structures, since such large permanent herds would have been less likely to exist in this place at a later time due to the worsening climate.

Some important features to consider about these ruins:

Many structures contain large amounts of animal pens (too small for human habitation)

Many structures feature the foundations of a small circular or rectangular structure in the middle of the fort

Many structures have towers at the corners, sometimes even protruding and attached to the fort by a corridor

All structures are built on the hilltops of the Richat’s land rings, rather than in the low valleys in between

All structures are located right next to what seem to be dried up river beds, judging from the vein-like pattern in the sand and the presence of scattered trees which feed off subterranean reservoirs

The walls are heavily deteriorated since they are built from loosely stacked irregular rocks, and judging from the large amount of rubble scattered around the ruins, they seem to have largely collapsed (they must have been taller to be able to contain the animals). The last remaining foundations seem to be held in place only by a thick layer of sand which accumulated over time. Removing this sand in a potential excavation might further deteriorate the structure

Some structures contain in their middle what could potentially be tumuli

The historical presence of water is suggested by several sebkhet in the Richat structure, patches of vegetation which presumably indicate underground reservoirs, various dried up river-like vein patterns in the terrain, and various shells which were found in situ.

A commonly suggested alternative identification is that these structures might have been forts built by the French foreign legion during the 19th century. Many of the ruins are built on elevated regions, which would have created a strategic advantage over approaching enemies. However, pictures and drawings of these French forts clearly show that their floor plans had a very precise, rigid square outline, and that they were built out of some sort of brick. The structures found in the Richat structure however, do have some straight lines and edges, but are more crooked in floor plan layout, as well as their walls being built out of stacked irregular rocks, instead of neat bricks. Another indication that these ruins are most likely not French forts, is that many of the French forts are still in quite a good condition, and are not expected to have been weathered to the ground as much as the Richat ruins in such a short period of time.

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French foreign legion hypothesis⁠

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Another suggestion proposed by some people on the internet, is the idea that these ruins might have been old caravanserai, a type of desert-inn which functioned as pit stops for nomadic trader caravans, and provided an economic hub for the local desert region. However, caravanserai don’t match the architectural design of these ruins. They are rather distinctly geometric, Islamic style forts made out of sandstone bricks. Furthermore, the nearby town of Ouadane was a historical caravan town within the gold trade route, because of the local oasis at the foot of an old riverbed which flowed from the mountains that surround the Richat structure. It can be clearly seen that all the buildings (known as Ksour) and land plots in this town, both the historical ruins as well as the more modern buildings, are all straight quadrangles, without any round towers, nor any triangle shaped layouts. There seems to be no instance of distinct animal pens around the walls, but rather merely human residences, which surround a central open hub, sometimes with a water well. Furthermore, the ruins of the old city still stand to a large extent, while the Richat ruins have been reduced to their foundations, and have been largely enveloped by the sand. The buildings in Ouadane are generally also a lot smaller and more densely packed than those found in the Richat structure. From this, we can conclude that the ruins on the Richat structure are most likely not the remnants of these caravanserai, and are probably a lot older.

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A different and more ancient proposed identification is the suggestion that these structures might be so-called ‘desert kites’. These simple structures built by African hunter gatherers have a wide opening into which animals can be driven, leading up to a small, walled corner, where the animals can be easily surrounded and killed. However, the Richat ruins do not have any wide opening into which animals could have been driven, and are rather closed off forts which seem more likely to have been used for the long term storage of cattle. Also, their layouts are more regular and geometric than the naturally curved walls of the desert kites.

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Having dismissed these potential alternative historical origins of these structures, ranging from the recent French colonial past, to the golden age of Saharan caravan trade and prehistoric savannah hunters, we can now start to seriously consider a different, perhaps neolithic up to bronze age origin. In this period, the climate was already quite dry but still more hospitable than in recent history. Perhaps these forts contained water wells in their centre, and featured storage rooms for cattle feed which was produced locally. Their location next to dry river beds suggests a preference for a nearby water source, which might have provided a rare and valuable oasis. This would explain the need to fortify their resources (water, feed, cattle), and explain the existence of a larger social structure in which several of these similar forts co-existed in the region. The fact that most forts are located in the inner rings of the Richat structure, while most of the simple tumuli are located at the edge, could point to some form of geographically distributed social stratification, or alternatively indicate that the fort-builders preferred to bury their dead away from their settlements.

A fascinating detail about the structures found in the Richat structure, is that all of them are located on the tall land rings, rather than in the intermittent depressions. This strongly suggests that, when large amounts of water still flowed in this area, these forts were probably built along the coast, or further inland on the thin land rings, and not underwater. The sheer size of these structures, as well as their large amount and concentration, suggest that they are the few megalithic remnants of a larger society that existed within the ringed structure. They kept large amounts of cattle when the climate was a lot more conducive of this, and they defended their precious cattle with the protruding towers, which provide a range all around the fort for guarding archers, when placed on two opposite corners. The large size of these fortresses is of a far greater scale than all the more recent architecture in Mauritania, and its use as an animal enclosure and fort, suggested that it was originally at least tall enough for a person from this time to be unable to climb over it. Inside, they made minimal use of rocks for walls, using the most material to create the animal pens, which had their entrance to the side, so that they did not open directly to the central open area, which could perhaps have had a calming effect on the herd being kept there. The inside probably contained a water source, some storage rooms and buildings for human shelter. In case of a siege by plunderers entering through the water system, they would have been able to defend themselves and their cattle, using the protruding towers of these forts. As we have seen in II.8, the semitic root word g-d-r, meaning ‘sheep enclosure’, or ‘fortification’ has left its mark on at least one place name in this region (Agadir, Morocco). Perhaps these structures represent the mesolithic origins of this concept, where valuable herds of domesticated cattle were kept in fortified enclosures (Janssens, 2023).

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Considering the geological evidence for an aggressive flood in this area, it seems as if we have pinpointed the historical occurrence of the legendary flooding of the ancient city. This would have instantly demolished any simple mud brick or plant based structures, and more rigid, large scale constructions would be mostly destroyed, but their foundations, surrounded by some rubble of the crumbled walls, can be expected to have remained on the bottom of the lake, only to remain in the same spot after the retreating of the water and subsequent desertification. The account employed by Plato mentioned the existence of many densely built simple houses (Critias 117e). Since these would have been built from the locally abundant natural rocks, the destruction of such a collection of buildings would have only left a field of rubble, with many of these rocks being scattered around the general area. This, in fact, is exactly the case in the Richat structure. The martian landscape is sprinkled with loose lying rocks which could have easily once been a part of these naturally sourced houses. Various different dating techniques might be applied to definitely determine the age of the different forts and artefacts. Furthermore, we must realise that at this point we have only been able to discuss those structures which are visible from space: one can only imagine what might still lie hidden under the Saharan sand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PQnvPaBmJs&ab_channel=DavidStigHansen⁠

richat fort

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiOs4BSVWxw&ab_channel=DavidStigHansen⁠

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https://grahamhancock.com/phorum/read.php?1,1191386,1213388⁠

NEW RUINS

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https://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1323328/pg5⁠

NEW RUINS

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https://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1328780/pg1⁠

NEW RUINS

ABILITY TO MOBILISE LABOUR TO BUILD FORTS INDICATES SOCIAL POWER

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https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1IG-X-dpGnJd09zhwT2EdrXDxsuPhme0-&ll=21.563673538829043%2C-12.844653185431412&z=19⁠

NEW RUINS

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https://www.facebook.com/AtlantisTogether/videos⁠

Tichitt culture neolithic ruins:

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Example of excavatred Tichitt wall ruins and stone funeral monuments, compare with Richat ruins.

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Loading…⁠

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Excavated neolithic Tichitt wall foundation which strongly resembles the construction style of the Richat fortresses:

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https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/state-building-in-ancient-west-africa⁠

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Archaeology Bemerkenswelt :: SAHARA :: Dhar Tichitt⁠

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https://africanrockart.britishmuseum.org/country/mauritania/guilemsi/⁠

tichitt culture

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https://twitter.com/AfricanWorldH/status/1737231470823866832⁠

tichitt history

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https://prehistoireouestsaharienne.wordpress.com/2021/08/30/la-culture-neolithique-de-tichitt-elements-diconographie-3/⁠

TICHITT RUINS

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhar_Tichitt⁠

see sources!!

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https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/state-building-in-ancient-west-africa/comments⁠

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https://academic-accelerator.com/encyclopedia/tichitt-culture⁠

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https://maps.app.goo.gl/xB1sEGpLcS1KvJuZ9?g_st=ic⁠

tichitt culture ruins

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https://www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/state-building-in-ancient-west-africa⁠

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tichitt_culture⁠

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dhar tichitt millet grain

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https://www.archaeologs.com/w/awl/en⁠

pin gevonden ipv naald steen gaten prikken

andere ruines richat zoeken

compare tichitt ruins to richat ruins

Ruins on outer rings smaller and simpler design than inner rings large and exact high status?

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278416523000041⁠

tichitt description!!

he first detailed archaeological fieldwork was conducted by Patrick Munson (1971), who documented the multi-stage settlement sequence of the Tichitt Tradition from the late third millennium BC to the end of the first millennium BC (Table 1), a pattern confirmed by subsequent investigations at Dhar Tichitt and Dhar Oualata (Vernet, 1993, Amblard-Pison, 2006, MacDonald, 2013). Munson (1971) also produced the first archaeological sequence of sub-Saharan crop domestication anywhere in Africa. While the origins of cereal domestication in the southern Sahara have even deeper origins into the third or early fourth millennium BC (Manning et al., 2011, Fuller et al., 2021), southeastern Mauritania remains crucial to understanding the agricultural development of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), a cereal of pan-African importance even today.

Phase Chronology Features

Pre-Tichitt 2600–1900 BCE Mobile herders and hunter-gatherers living in small temporary campsites.

Early Tichitt 1900–1600 BCE Initial cultivation of domesticated pearl millet. Considerable degree of mobility.

Classic Tichitt 1600–1000 BCE Development of vast settlements comprising conjoined clusters of stone-walled compounds.

Late Tichitt 1000–400 BCE Period of intense aridification and associated demographic decline in the Tichitt-Oualata region.

Terminal Tichitt/Early Iron Age 400 BCE – AD 200 Development of complex stonewalled settlements in the Tagant region with evidence of iron metallurgy.

Greater emphasis on pastoral mobility in some areas.

The existence of spatio-temporal settlement dynamics during the Late Holocene (=2.200 BC - present) in the southern Sahara is intrinsically linked to climatic fluctuations, with episodes of greater humidity creating novel ecological niches for agro-pastoral communities relying on livestock and pearl millet cultivation, while aridification trends appear to have disrupted local viabilities of certain subsistence strategies (Munson, 1971, Holl, 1985, Vernet, 1993, MacDonald, 2015, Linares-Matás, 2022). Pearl millet cultivation in the Tichitt-Oualata-Néma region of southeastern Mauritania likely started as a seasonal component of a generalized broad-spectrum pastoral economy that included the exploitation of wild terrestrial and aquatic resources (Holl, 2009, MacDonald, 2015). During the second half of the second millennium BC, the region witnessed an increasing reliance on cultivated crops within a semi-sedentary lifestyle, characterized by chaff-tempered pottery vessels, grinding stones, granaries, lithic arrowheads, and extensive stone-walled settlements articulated around household compounds (Munson, 1971, Amblard-Pison, 2006, Holl, 2009, MacDonald, 2013). Increasing investment in agricultural production may have been an innovative solution to accommodate a growing population in the well-watered landscapes of the Sahelian savanna during the second millennium BC (Linares-Matás, 2022). Increasing aridification across the Sahel and the suggested arrival of Berber communities in the region on the basis of stylistic affinities in pottery assemblages during the Late Tichitt period (c. 1000–400 BCE) seem to correlate with a considerable decline of permanent human settlement in the Tichitt-Oualata region (Munson, 1971, Holl, 1985, MacDonald, 2011) and the funneling of population west into Dhar Tagant and southeast into Dhar Néma (Ould-Khattar, 1995, Person et al., 2006, MacDonald et al., 2009, MacDonald, 2020). It is tempting to see this demographic process—reflected in the archaeological record through ceramics with cord-wrapped roulette decoration, imported phthanite siltstone, cattle remains, and cattle figurines—as a relevant catalyst in the consolidation of more permanent settlements in the Middle Niger and the Macina regions of Mali.

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https://aisuperior.com/projects/satellite-image-based-objects-detection/⁠

satellite AI

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71_aXwb4Yjk&t=4s&ab_channel=AtlantisTogether⁠

ruins zoom

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http://www.heinandwil.net/CANWebpages/Chegga.htm⁠

fort chegga rock artt

Watercourses have been important routes of trade and movement throughout Saharan history. During the Mid Holocene watercourses such as the Wadi Draa, the Saguia al-Hamra, and their tributaries, would have become more important for human populations as the climate became drier after the acceleration of Saharan desiccation in the fourth millennium BC.4 Such features would have constituted ‘refugia’ where water existed at or close to the surface, and plant and animal resources persisted after surrounding areas became desiccated.5 In this paper we argue that archaeological evidence from funerary architecture supports the supposition that Western Sahara was part of an extended interaction sphere that operated via the major south-north and east-west drainage systems that characterize the Saharan interior more generally. There are clear cultural links between Western Sahara and southern and central Sahara and these are most clearly observed in the similarities that exist in the funerary architecture, discussed below. We also argue that a small but significant suite of cultural behaviours, recorded in both the northern and southern sectors, suggest links via the Atlantic with north-western Morocco and perhaps Iberia. These links may have been facilitated by an Atlantic maritime route that utilised the inland water courses, such as the Wadi Draa and the Saguia al-Hamra.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333929971_Burial_Practices_in_Western_Sahara⁠

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https://archaeologie.bemerkenswelt.de/en/SAHARA.html⁠

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252750869_Orientation_and_Distribution_of_Various_Dry_Stone_Monuments_of_the_Sahara⁠

west sahara tumuli along river lines

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RGPEtIQv04&ab_channel=DavidStigHansen⁠

tumuli

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https://www.persee.fr/doc/bspf_0249-7638_1939_num_36_11_4709⁠

chegga rock art

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https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Size-based_distribution_map_of_funerary_tumulus_clusters_in_the_central_section_of_the_Dhar_Tichitt_Escarpment.jpg⁠

tichitt tumuli like richat

This framework may explain why, in southeastern Mauritania, dense tumulus clusters are located at the immediate periphery of some large settlements, as seen at Dakhlet el Atrouss, or – to move further afield - the Moroccan site of Jabal Bouïa (Bokbot, 2019). On the Tagant Plateau, this phenomenon is rare, but it is clearly attested at Guelb ed Dâmi, where a 25 ha walled settlement overlooks a tumulus cluster (n = 84) located on a small promontory c.500 m to the northwest and across a valley traversed by a seasonal stream. Bokbot (2019) stresses how Jabal Bouïa also overlooks a fertile agricultural plain, a pattern that appears to be mirrored at Dakhlet el Atrouss I (Holl, 1993, Amblard-Pison, 2006, Linares-Matás, 2022). This pattern most likely reinforced the cosmological and political centrality of these nucleated living spaces (cf., MacDonald, 2013). Structuring flows of people, livestock, and valuable goods through the creation of monumental funerary landscapes that integrate cosmological centrality and socio-economic viability may have been at the heart of all these tumulus clusters. Such “liminal” funerary spaces could have played a central role in social cohesion and exclusion dynamics, by creating loci of identity and belonging that transcended the scale of the household, the lineage, or the village (MacDonald et al., 2018). Moreover, these shared sources of identity could have potentially consolidated spatially extensive socio-political networks that played an important role in the structuring of exchange systems (cf., Cohen, 1966). For example, Posnansky (1982) suggested that Senegambian tumulus fields assisted local agricultural societies in controlling and articulating the exchange of iron, gold, and other mineral resources. In the Sahara, far-reaching exchange networks involving stone beads, axes, and bracelets have been documented from the late fifth millennium BC, and a limited number of imported elements (MacDonald, 1998), such as carnelian and amazonite beads, have been found at Tichitt Tradition sites in southeastern Mauritania (Amblard, 1984: 273), although it is unclear to what extent they played a relevant role in structuring socio-political complexity (McIntosh and McIntosh, 1988). Instead, social organization appears to have been predominantly based on endogenous processes, such as agropastoral production and labor mobilization (MacDonald, 2013, Linares-Matás, 2022). The emergence of tumulus fields in the Western Tagant should perhaps be better understood through processes of spatial translocation and socio-economic transformation. A combination of migratory movements towards less dry areas of the southern Mauritanian highlands (such as Dhar Tagant or Dhar Néma) and a greater emphasis on smaller livestock seems to have enabled Tichitt Tradition communities to mediate the growing unpredictability of pearl millet cultivation in the context of the increasing aridity that the southern Sahara experienced during the first millennium BC and the early first millennium AD. Mobility flows are an ontological cornerstone of many societies with a strong pastoral component, since they need to adapt to seasonal fluctuations in the distribution of green pasture and surface water in order to sustain their livestock herds (e.g., di Lernia, 2006, Hildebrand and Grillo, 2012, di Lernia, 2013). Therefore, a greater emphasis on seasonal mobility would have resulted in uplands offering refugia and/or vantage points overlooking liminal areas of frequent transit, becoming particularly attractive locales of enduring social value, ideal emplacements for establishing new funerary landscapes or reimagining old ones. Such a trend has been documented in the Tadrart Acacus highlands of southwestern Libya through both spatial analyses and isotopic studies (cf. Cremaschi and di Lernia, 1999, Tafuri et al., 2006, di Lernia, 2013, Biagetti et al., 2015). In similar vein, the topographic location of tumulus fields on upland areas flanking seasonal watercourses that acted as both corridors of mobility as well as sources of freshwater may be a useful framework for understanding the location of the Tabarit funerary landscapes. The interplay between the cultural significance that imbued these sacred places and a topography that funnelled transhumant pastoralist groups and/or camel caravans moving through the lowlands northwest of the Tagant Plateau (see Fig. 9 above). This interpretation would be consistent with other regional patterns of tumulus clusters in the region, such as those located around the intersection between the uplands of Dhar Tagant and the lowlands of the Aoukar Basin at the entrance of the Taskast wadi (Linares-Matás and Lim, 2021). These relationships may have been further reinforced by culturally specific histories, cosmologies, and mythologies, providing a more textured and multi-layered justification of their positioning within the landscape (cf., Morris, 1991). In the absence of any dating directly associated with these sites, it is necessarily to rely for now on an observed trend that suggests a later settlement of the Dhar Tagant region in relation to Dhar Tichitt, with the bulk of Dhar Tagant sites seemingly dating to the first millennium BC and first millennium AD (Ould-Khattar, 1995, MacDonald, 2020). These dates are also consistent with the passing remarks made by Odette du Puigaudeau, who noted that many rock paintings in the region depict camels and have tifinagh inscriptions1 (du Puigaudeau, 1993: 111), although other motifs present at several Tagant rock art sites, such as extinct Sahelian fauna and naturalistically rendered pastoralist scenes (du Puigaudeau, 1993: 111), are undoubtedly earlier (cf., Muzzolini, 1986). LARGER TUMULI BUILT HIGHER ATOP HILLS, COMMEMORATE THE PAST.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278416523000041⁠

To date, the two tumuli that have been dated in the Northern Sector fall at the tail end of the pastoral period but dates on charcoal from test pits of lithic and pottery scatters 43 Camps 1961; Lihoreau 1993; di Lernia and Manzi 2002; Mattingly et al. 2008; Gauthier 2009.

17 fall at the very beginning of the pastoral period. Thus, it can be reasonably confidently stated that the occupation of the Northern Sector of Western Sahara, in the region of Tifariti, can be bracketed between c.3500 BC and c.AD 500. Clearly more radiocarbon dates are required for a better picture of the utilization of this important region during both the early and later Neolithic

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333929971_Burial_Practices_in_Western_Sahara⁠

Richat fortresses which most resemble the Tichitt style:

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Compare to ruins at Tibesti mountains in Chad, next to Lake Chad:

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371280361_Gauthier_Yves_2023_Volcanisme_elevage_et_climat_trois_parametres_clefs_pour_mieux_comprendre_le_peuplement_du_Tibesti_et_du_Borkou_Tchad_septentrional_a_l'Holocene_Les_Cahiers_de_l'AARS_24_39-58⁠

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Enclosures: These structures generally consist of an enclosure made, depending on the place and the materials available, with slabs fixed vertically in the ground or with large blocks that may be stacked. The enclosures vary greatly in size: from less than ten metres for the smallest to several hundred metres for the largest. Often isolated, they are some-times grouped together, giving the impression of settlements extending over more than a kilometre, the beginnings of the first villages in the Sahara? At the same time, their shape and internal structure are also very varied. In many cases, the peripheral walls only delimit part of the enclosure: the builders took advantage of the slopes, peaks, cliffs or wadi banks to lean their structure against them and thus benefit from protection while limiting the workload. Although they can occasionally exceed one metre in height, in most cases these walls are insufficient to prevent intrusion and/or to prevent the animals from escaping. It is therefore likely that these stone structures were supplemented by planted fences.

TIMBER FROM MOUNTAINS USED NOW GONE?

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