UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey (ULVS)

This material is held atBritish Institute for Libyan and Northern African Studies

  • Reference
    • GB 3432 BILNAS/D54
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1979 - 1996
  • Language of Material
    • English Arabic
  • Physical Description
    • DocumentPlanIllustrationPhotograph

Scope and Content

The UNESCO Libyan Valleys Survey expedition conducted fieldwork between 1979 and 1980 in Tripolitania in order to investigate the long-term relationships between settlement, land use and environment on the desert margins. The expedition was led by Barri Jones, Graeme Barker and David Gilbertson, and resulted in the publication of Farming the Desert vol.s I and II, edited by Graeme Barker and David Mattingly.

The collection contains the field notes for the project, maps, plans, project reports, documents relating to preparations for expeditions, material relating to the publication of 'Farming the Desert' and other material. Please note that material relating to the pottery finds of the ULVS can be found in the John Dore papers, D18. Additional ULVS record sheets may be found in D10/10.

The series reference number of each wadi is the number allocated in Mattingly, David, Farming the Desert, vol. II.

The image below is of Shaik Kilani Baba, who participated in the ULVS project, playing Umm Sebha. It is from file D54/10/2.

Access Information

Available for general access

Please contact the BILNAS General Secretary on gensec@bilnas.org If you wish to consult the archive.