03 · ARCHAEOBOTANY · ≈900–400 BCE

Seeds of the oasis

Wheat, barley, dates, vines and figs before the great system

Plant remains show that cereals and fruit trees were already cultivated in the earliest oases.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Specific historical recreation of Wheat, barley, dates, vine and fig before the major system, Zinchecra · Fezzan, 900–400 cal BCE — **DECLARED VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Generated reconstruction · Declared visual hypothesis
Declared visual reconstruction; not a photograph of the original nor documentary evidence.

History and context

Plant remains from Zinchecra document three cereals, three fruit trees, salad plants, aromatics and wild resources within an early oasis economy.

Archaeobotany identifies cultivation and consumption; it does not reveal who owned the land or how much labour was free or coerced.

Eleven radiocarbon dates place the plant assemblage between 900 and 400 cal BCE. Cereals, fruit trees, aromatics and wild plants reveal an already developed agricultural regime.

The seeds document species, processing and potential consumption; they do not automatically identify ownership, tribute or enslaved labour.

Evidence and interpretation

The archaeobotanical assemblage and eleven radiocarbon dates place a developed agricultural regime between 900 and 400 cal BCE. Ownership, total scale and labour organisation are interpretations.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: 900–400 cal BCE
Location: Zinchecra · Fezzan
Material: Desiccated and carbonised seeds and plant remains
Context: Early agriculture
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Dating: Eleven radiocarbon dates, 900–400 cal BCE
Conservation: Desiccated and carbonised remains
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

You are viewing

900–400 cal BCE

Seeds of the oasis

Garamantes

Radiocarbon interval of plant remains from the context.

Current record

Plant remains1 dated object

You are viewing
900–400 cal BCE
Seeds of the oasis
Garamantes
Radiocarbon interval of plant remains from the context.
Current record

1 / 1In the centre: Seeds of the oasis

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Agriculture

Account of malt and barley · c. 3100–2900 BCE · Sumer
Pithos · c. 1450–1375 BCE · Greek worlds
Seeds of the oasis · 900–400 cal BCE · Garamantes — You are viewing

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Canal and field · IV–III millennium BCE · Sumer
Dia’s strata · 9th century BCE–2nd millennium CE · Mande Worlds
Four gardens and water · 6th century BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Rice on stilts · Especially 1st–3rd centuries CE · Yayoi Japan
Tichitt walls · II–I millennia BCE · Mande Worlds

Food preparation

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Canal and field · IV–III millennium BCE · Sumer
Early pottery · before ca. 9400 cal BCE · Mande Worlds
Soma stones · Rigvedic strata; later ritual tradition · Vedic and later Indian worlds

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Dryness and fire preserve different things

The plant assemblage from Zinchecra comprises desiccated and carbonised remains. Its study therefore combines two preservation pathways: materials that lost moisture and others transformed by heat. Comparing them helps expand the available information on cultivated and gathered plants, rather than relying solely on what fell into the fire. The assemblage includes salad plants and aromatic herbs, as well as cereals and fruits. This variety allows thinking about different uses of vegetables and domestic practices that are not reduced to grain storage.

Research · Marijke van der Veen · The Plant Remains from Zinchecra, Libyan Studies 23 (1992)Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Location and territory

LOCATED SITE

Zinchecra · FezzanApproximate marker of the elevated settlement.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

Did you enjoy this exhibit?

Your opinion helps us improve the museum. You can change it whenever you like.

Loading your rating…