Tassili n’Ajjer, World Heritage Site in Algeria

The Tassili n’Ajjer is a mountain range stretching 500 km across the Sahara Desert in southeastern Algeria. The more than 15,000 rock paintings that remain in this area have recorded the climate, animal changes, and the development of human life in this region since 6,000 BC. The rocky mountains spread out like a forest, offering beautiful and spectacular views.

Here, a World Heritage enthusiast explains why Tassili n’Ajjer is a World Heritage Site in an easy-to-understand manner.Read this and you will definitely learn more about Tassili n’Ajjer!

What is Tassili n’Ajjer?

The area straddles the borders of Libya, Niger, and Mali in southeastern Algeria and covers an area of 720,000 square kilometers as a site. Many archaeological sites, including prehistoric burial mounds, survive here. The most famous are the rock paintings depicting animals and humans, of which more than 15,000 remain.The themes of the paintings are not limited to animals, but also include scenes of humans fighting, hunting, and grazing, making for a great variety of subjects.

Tassili n’Ajjer means “plateau through which a river flows” in Tamashek language. Today, however, the landscape is characterized by dry land followed by dried-up rivers and valleys, which are called “rock forests”. Today, it is not an environment where many animals can live, as depicted in the rock paintings, but as predicted from the rock paintings and other evidence, it was once a lush green land with an expanse of savanna.

For what reason is Tassili n’Ajjer on the World Heritage List?

Tassili n’Ajjer was recognized by

Registration Criteria (i)
The fact that it is one of the most famous rock paintings of prehistoric times, with the transition from cattle grazing to horses and camels.

Registration Criteria (iii)
The fact that the 10,000-year-old rock paintings prove that agriculture was once practiced here and that the landscape was pastoral.

Registration Criteria (vii)
The fact that it offers beautiful views of the desert area, such as the “rock forest” where eroded rocks form.

Registration Criteria (viii)
As for geology, it means that Precambrian sandstones and crystals are still present.

World Heritage Mania Conclusions and Impressions

Tassili n’Ajjer is, after all, a very unusual area in that more than 15,000 rock paintings have been preserved. Today, the area is also rich in Precambrian strata, and visitors can admire the desert art of the eroded rocks.What is more, it is surprising to know that this area could have been a deep forest 6,000 years ago!

*The contents here are considerations derived from research conducted by World Heritage enthusiasts. As for the data, interpretation differs depending on the medium.