536

Site
Site name
RA01/85
Toponym(s) of the site

In Taharin

Description

A rock shelter on the first terrace over the right side of the Wadi In Taharin, a left tributary of the Wadi Teshuinat. The site contains several petroglyphs and paintings that were partially reproduced in a composite chipboard panel in the Mori Collection. The motifs are attributable to the Round Heads and Pastoral styles and are extremely damaged owing to natural processes and anthropogenic actions linked to their reproduction (wetting and tracing with graphite). The artworks are located on two surfaces: one on the left and one (the most famous) on the right, located about 4 meters above the present-day floor. The left surface contains a Pastoral scene with carved and partially painted motifs: a few cattle and an indistinct human figure (Panel 1). The right surface contains at least four panels with petroglyphs and critically faded paintings: the first one (Panel 2) includes a row of ich- thyomorphic figures and the second one (Panel 3) has a large Round Heads scene with three Barbary sheep ewes and three lambs. The middle animal is pregnant and the other two are nursing their lambs. The animals are rendered in red contour and filled in white; among them we can see a few red and yellowish humans. On the right, Panel 4 con- tains several extremely faded painted and carved figures representing a cow and white-colored humans. Panel 5 includes an undetermined two-tier scene: the upper one shows several red, white, and green geometric figures, possibly representing a settlement. The lower register includes at least eight red humans playing wind instruments and at least one small red and white zoomorphic figure; the depiction of red humans resumes on the right. The lower register also includes a series of petroglyphs representing ichthyomorphic figures and a complex motif with dots on the right. The panel’s right end side displays at least two additional extremely faded red and white paintings.