Mount Arkanu or Jabal Arkanu (also Jebel Arkenu or Gebel Árchenu) is a mountain in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Geography

The mountain is located in the

Libyan Desert The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the northeastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval m ...

in the

Kufra District Kufra, Kufrah or Kofra ( '), also spelled ''Cufra'' in Italian, is the largest district of Libya and the second largest such district in Africa. It is slightly smaller than the country of Turkmenistan. Its capital is Al Jawf, one of the oases in ...

of Libya, about 300 km southeast of

El Tag El Tag (; also ''Al-Tag'', ''Al-Taj'') is a village and holy site in the Kufra Oasis, within the Libyan Desert subregion of the Sahara. It is in the Kufra District in the southern Cyrenaica region of southeastern Libya. The Arabic ''el tag'' trans ...

.Bertarelli (1929), p. 515 and about 70 km west of Arkanu and the two Arkenu structures. Its height is , rising about 500 m above the surrounding

Gilf Kebir Gilf Kebir () (var. Gilf al-Kebir, Jilf al Kabir, Gilf Kebir Plateau) is a plateau in the New Valley Governorate of the remote southwest corner of Egypt, and southeast Libya. Its name translates as "the Great Barrier". This sandstone plateau, ...

plateau and a valley-

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

Arkanu's existence has been known since 1892 through Arab sources. Arkanu was first discovered in 1923 by

Ahmed Hassanein Ahmed Hassanein Pasha, Royal Victorian Order, KCVO, Order of the British Empire, MBE () (31 October 1899 – 19 February 1946) was an Egyptian courtier, diplomat, politician, and explorer, geographic explorer. Hassanein was the tutor, Chief of ...

. The mountain consists of intrusive

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

. The valley is 15 km long and oriented east–west. The valley has a green environment consisting of bushes, grass and some trees. Arkenu aerialOD

Arkanu is used as a pasture. Each year the

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

s bring their herds to the valley, leave them there and block the entrance (located at a height of ) with rocks. They return three months later to retrieve their cattle.

Archeology

A 2003 field trip to the Djebel Arkenu and Djebel Uweinat regions uncovered several new rock art sites that had not been previously reported in the literature. The researchers paid particular attention to the Djebel Arkenu, a smaller mountain neighboring the more well-known Djebel Uweinat.von Czerniewicz, Maya, et al. “Preliminary Investigations in the Djebel Uweinat Region, Libyan Desert.” Journal of African Archaeology, vol. 2, no. 1, 2004, pp. 81–96. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43135335. Accessed 5 May 2024. In the Djebel Arkenu, two

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

sites were discovered deep within the main wadi. The first Arkenu site (Arkenu I) was a boulder with a flat, sloping top that bore a variety of petroglyphs, primarily depicting

bovid The Bovidae comprise the family (biology), biological family of cloven-hoofed, ruminant mammals that includes Bos, cattle, bison, Bubalina, buffalo, antelopes (including Caprinae, goat-antelopes), Ovis, sheep and Capra (genus), goats. A member o ...

s such as

oryx ''Oryx'' ( ) is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight and annulated. The exception is the sci ...

and cattle, as well as a few

canid Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a family (biology), biological family of caniform carnivorans, constituting a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). The family includes three subfamily, subfamilies: the Caninae, a ...

s and other indistinct animals. A single bovid petroglyph was found on an isolated rock about 40 meters upstream, acting as an intermediary signpost to the next site. The second Arkenu site (Arkenu II) was located about 20 meters above the wadi floor on a perpendicular rock face with flanking wings, as well as a large sloping slab at the base. The motifs at this site were quite different, featuring a predominance of

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

s and a few indistinct bovid remains. These newly discovered Arkenu

rock art In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...

sites provide additional insights into the rich cultural heritage and symbolic significance of this remote desert region. The researchers note that previous expeditions to the Djebel Uweinat had largely focused on Djebel Uweinat, often neglecting the neighboring Djebel Arkenu area.

Sources

Notes

External links

Jabal Arkanu

Jabal Arkanu on Peakbagger
{{Mountains of Libya Cyrenaica Arkanu