Rock art conservation in Morocco

Abstract

The state of preservation of archaeological sites in Southern Morocco is discussed, with particular reference to rock art sites. While the archaeological community is aware of the scale of the damage (both natural and anthropic) to archaeological sites in the central Sahara, the deterioration of Moroccan cultural heritage is still largely unreported. In May 2002, a survey of some rock art sites in the pre-Saharan Morocco, in the Jebel Sarhro, revealed the gravity and extent of the destruction, caused mainly by looting, vandalism and re-utilisation of archaeological material. Many of the activities detrimental to the rock art can be understood if read into their socio-economic context. Pre-Saharan Morocco is poor and suffers from progressive desertification; the traffic in cultural objects represents one of the few available revenue sources. As a consequence, rock art and other cultural artefacts are systematically looted and sold to private art collectors and tourists. Apart from the scientific damage, this impoverishes the local population, which will lose a great cultural patrimony upon which they could potentially build a sustainable tourism industry. The suitability of management strategies for archaeological sites will also be re-examined, in the light of the actual needs of the local communities. This means defining the role of archaeologists (and other outsiders) in the decision-making process. The dilemma is whether we should consider certain activities – the addition of new engravings to rock art sites or the reutilization of decorated boulders for the construction of water basins – as harmless or detrimental. Do Western values entitle archaeologists to force their management plans on local communities? In this perspective, the paper reports damage done to several engravings by an archaeological team making moulds. What should archaeologists be allowed to do in the name of science and conservation?