The Berber oasis of al-Jaghbub is located around 280 kilometres south-east
of Tobruk, by the Egyptian border. Likewise
the nearest settlement, the oasis of Siwa, the population of Jaghbub are mainly
Berbers. In ancient times all the oases of the Libyan desert (now in Egypt
and Libya) are Berbers including most of the oases in western Egypt (all the
land west of the Nile). The population of the Jaghbub village is 2,768
people (as of 2006). During the colonial era the oasis was refered
to by the name "Giarabub", where the
Berber /gha/ is often written as /r/.
The Jaghbub oasis is situated on a
depression that extends around 10 meters below sea level. The oasis is
the home of a number of desert lakes, the most popular of which are the Malfa
lake and the Fridgha. It was said that the salt in the Malfa lake, the largest
lake in the Libyan Sahara, has a healing property. The oasis is self-sufficient,
depending largely on the underground water reservoirs and palm-date production.
In ancient times the caravan trade also played an important role in the economy of
the oasis. The oasis was the headquarters of the Senussi
Movement [5], where king Idris, the king of Libya before Gaddafi, was born
on the 12th of March 1889.
The castle was originally built for the Berber family of Mr. M. A. Althni
Alghadamsi some 135 years ago. Althni was a famous caravan trader along the
Ghadames-Siwa caravan route. The castle is a classic style of the Berber architecture
of Ghadames.
The Jaghbub oasis is also popular for its medical tourism (السياحة العلاجية),
else known as sand remedy, where patients bury their bodies in hot sand right
to their chin and soak the sun-energy trapped in the sand. The healing property
of hot sand is also a source of tourist attraction in the nearby Berber oasis
of Siwa, in Egypt.
Sand Remedy (Hot Sand Bath), Jaghbub.
Photo Source: curtesy of Libyan LANA (http://lananews.com/ar/?p=7192)
Beginning in the month of August many patients arrive in the Berber oasis
to bury themselves in the hot sand of the Sahara, believing the practice heals
a number of ailments including nerves, rheumatism, back and muscle pain, arthritis,
diabetes, skin diseases, and general well being (أمراض الأعصاب والروماتيزم
وآلام الظهر والعضلات
ومرض السكري والتهاب المفاصل والأمراض الجلدية والصحة العامة). The
treatment begins by burying the body (except the head) for around 20 minutes
each session, with the head protected from the scorching heat of the Libyan
sun. The therapist then provides the occasional drink of warm water to the patient.
This is repeated for up to 4 days (depending on the ailment). The patient then
is taken inside
the hot tent where s/he stays while the tent is closed and without drinking
any cold drinks or being exposed to any draft. The patient is given warm fenugreek soup,
before he is taken to his sleep tent where s/he receives a massage with warm
olive oil. The cost of this treatment varies from 120 LD to 300 LD, depending
on ailment and severity. LANA's report says that scientists believe the secret
is not the hot sand itself, but the sun's electromagnetic waves that interact
with the human body via the sand [6]
Jaghbub Caves
The oasis was neglected by all the previous Libyan governments, and as of
today still there are no academic or professional studies to document the abandoned
treasures of the oasis, including looted, prehistoric cave tombs and prehistoric
paintings and engravings. The cave contained mass-graves dating to the second
century BC. The caves were located in the areas of Fridgha, Malfa and Ain-Bouzid.
Some mummies were also found in the caves.
However, according to Expedition Atlantis [7], the caves
do not appear to have been planned as tombs or graves, but are more reminiscent
of the troglodytes (cave dwellers) described by Herodotus; not only
because the mountain range in which the caves are found shows large pieces
of rocks have crumbled off the edge revealing the caves, which indicate that
these caves were once much deeper, with their front
part is missing. The way in which the bones are found, for example, grouped
together in mass, may support this theory.
This Jaghbub site where many mummies were found is is characterised
by a series of rock-cut tombs. It was said
by some researchers that the caves must have been part of a larger structure
of caves connected by stone-stairs, before the front section collapsed. The
caves, or tombs, were badly vandalised by tomb robbers.
According to W.
J. Mike Groen, Nicholas Márquez-Grant, and Rob Janaway (in their Forensic Archaeology:
A Global Perspective), there were five mummies discover in al-Jaghbub in 1995
by Dr. Fadel alone [5]. Dr. Fadel was the antiquities advisor for the state
and lecturer at the Omar Almukhtar University. Radiocarbon analysis in France
revealed that the mummies date to between 196-126 BC. The website of the Atlantis
Expedition has a small video showing some photos about one of the mummies
[7].
One of these mummies, known as the Jaghbub mummy, is a mummy of a seven-year
old girl, dating to 120-260 BC. The medical
analysis showed that the girl has died
of liver disease. The mummy was discovered in 2004. It was shipped to Italy
by the Italian-Libyan Archaeological Mission in the Acacus and Messak (of the
University La Sapienza) for analysis, before
it was returned to Tripoli's Red Castle Museum in 2009;
where it is displayed in its original tissues, alongside an accurate copy
of the body. This archaeological initiative was
supported by Eni NA [1].
One of Jaghbub's Mummy
This close up shows a necklace around the neck. The jewellery found with
the mummy include a ring, a necklace of 78 coloured glass-beads (resembling
amber and emerald), three larger glass beads (with gold leaf), and other glass
beads with silver leaf.
[1] https://www.temehu.com/FreeDownloads/eni-north-africa-2009-eng.pdf
[2] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/aHVlVHnDanU
[3] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/f94w7w-YDVM
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaghbub,_Libya
[5] Forensic Archaeology: A Global Perspective, by W. J.
Mike Groen, Nicholas Márquez-Grant, and Rob Janaway, Chapter 36. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fuUbBgAAQBAJ
[6] lananews.com/ar/?p=7192
[7] expedition-atlantis.com/Mumie-Cyrenaika.html
