The Messak Project

The Messak Project' inherits the legacy of a long lasting collaboration between ENI S.p.A, the Italian Libyan Archaeological Mission, and the Libyan Department of Archaeology.The Messak Project was originally conceived as a three-year program (2010-2012) focused on a range of coordinated actions to increase the knowledge of the area, to assess damages and potential risks, and to preserve and manage the rich natural and cultural heritage. Uprisings in Libya determined its sudden termination on late February 2011. Nevertheless, major results of the project include: the compilation of a c.10,000 sites database including hundreds of unpublished sites from previous surveys; the discovery of c. 2500 new archaeological sites; the drawing of a set of GIS-based maps.Learn moreGallinaro, M., C. Gauthier, G. Gauthier, J.-L. Le Quellec, S. Abdel Aziz, S. Biagetti, L. Boitani, E. Cancellieri, L. Cavorsi, I. Massamba N'Siala, A. Monaco, A. Vanzetti, A. Zerboni, and S. di Lernia. 2012. "The Messak Project. Cultural and Natural Preservation and Sustainable Tourism (south-western Libya)," in Antiquity Project Gallery, vol. 086.The transects surveyed for the Messak Project