Ennedi Rock Art: Paintings and Engravings of the Chadian Sahara

The rock art of Ennedi is one of the great cultural treasures of the Sahara. Thousands of paintings and engravings are scattered throughout caves, rock shelters, and sandstone cliffs in the Ennedi Massif, in northeastern Chad—a site designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 and protected within the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve. After years of exploring this desert, we continue to find in these paintings one of the best ways to understand that the Sahara was never an empty space. Its walls preserve scenes of wildlife, herders, herds, horsemen, dances, and everyday activities that offer a glimpse into thousands of years of human occupation.

Ennedi Rock Art: An Open-Air Museum in the Sahara

The vast Sahara Desert is full of vivid evidence of early humans—from the time when it was a fertile garden and later a savanna, from the time when people were nomads, and from the time when they settled down to engage in farming and herding.

The wildlife that inhabited this area before the dunes and rocks took over, the lives of the people, and even their symbolism are depicted in the delicate rock paintings —created with ochre, black, and white pigments—and in the rock engravings.

On our expeditions to the Ennedi, the Ennedi rock art never fails to amaze our travelers.

You don’t have to be a big fan of archaeology to realize that you’re looking at a marvelous piece of art—and a very ancient one at that. The oldest art of all. It’s like a painting or a photograph from a very, very distant past, as they would say in Star Wars.

But what’s more—and this is important—those of us who take trips to the Ennedi have the opportunity to see it right where it was painted: the original site. With no fences or display cases in the way.

Maybe that’s why the experience is so wonderful. In fact, it’s impossible not to feel a little like an “explorer,” an “archaeologist,” or “Indiana Jones” when you’re standing before the rock art of Ennedi.

In fact, once you’ve trained your eye a little, you can set out to explore the rock shelters in search of new discoveries. I assure you that it’s possible to find paintings that even our guides didn’t know about, despite having passed by there.

Another aspect that fascinates us is that these rock art sites feature scenes that are a true reflection of what we see in Chad today: large herds of goats, sheep (distinguished by the shape of their tails, horns, and ears), and cows. There are also traditional dances and everyday tasks such as grinding millet or preparing food in a pot.

Where Is the Ennedi Rock Art and What Is It Like?

In Ennedi National Park, which, as we have already noted, has been a a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016, there are thousands of rock art images dating back to 7,000 B.C. In other words, from our perspective, they are more than 9,000 years old.

There are also other archaeological sites, such as necropolises and traces of settlements, containing small artifacts such as ancient stone mills, arrowheads, pottery shards, and other tools.

However, the vast majority have not yet been studied. The remoteness and vastness of Ennedi make it difficult and expensive to organize archaeological expeditions. It’s a shame, but from a romantic point of view, it’s not so bad that they remain hidden treasures, is it?

Gérard Bailloud and the Study of Ennedi’s Rock Art

Gérard Bailloud was the pioneer who dedicated himself to studying the rock art of Ennedi. He began his work in this region in November 1956, and over the course of a year, he managed to locate 500 sites with rock art, most of which were paintings. He took 700 photographs and conducted 200 studies at 82 different locations. This is impressive when we consider the era in which he did it. His book *Rock Art in Ennedi* has become a standard reference work.

At present, there is no definitive inventory of all the rock art in Ennedi. Only about one-sixth of the plateau was surveyed during Gérard Bailloud’s expeditions. UNESCO now estimates that there are thousands of paintings and engravings scattered throughout caves, canyons, and rock shelters.

Location and Other Details

Unlike much of the best-known rock art found in Europe, Saharan rock art is often found in the open air, in hollows and rock shelters formed by sandstone, as well as in shallow caves.

That was where people settled to shelter from the elements, and only in a few places are the paintings located in deeper, darker areas. Many archaeologists believe that these paintings—the most hidden ones—may have symbolic or sacred significance.

The extreme aridity of the Sahara has, in many places, helped preserve pigments and rock art for thousands of years, although erosion, water, wind, and human activity continue to threaten them.

As for how these paintings were made, we know that the men (or women) of that era used mineral pigments. For example, they used ochre and hematite to produce red or orange, kaolin for white, and charcoal for black.

Timeline and Motifs Found in the Rock Art of Ennedi

In the rock art of Ennedi, three main periods—which are always approximate—can be distinguished; these were established by Bailloud. Each of these periods features different motifs.

Archaic Period

Between 7,000 and 5,000 B.C., humans were hunter-gatherers. Depictions of people running predominate here. Sometimes they wear feathers on their heads and even a mask on their faces.

The animals most commonly depicted are the wild animals typically found in the savanna and pre-jungle regions: elephants, giraffes, big cats, ostriches, gazelles, etc.

Pastoral Period

Between 5,000 and 2,000 B.C., nomadic herding had already become established, and therefore most of the animal drawings depict livestock. However, in the latter half of those three thousand years, men also appear fighting one another or hunting while armed with shields.

They can also be seen dancing or engaged in everyday activities near their huts, which are depicted as curved lines. The presence of men playing the harp at various archaeological sites is particularly noteworthy.

They are small figures and much more dynamic than those from earlier periods, and the level of detail is amazing.

Camelid Period (camels)

This period spans from 2,000 B.C. to the 17th century, according to some sources. In the earliest part of this period, the figures are much more schematic.

The dromedary appears to be the most common mount, and in some depictions they seem to be flying because they are galloping. You can clearly see that they are carrying swords, saddles, etc. Of course, there are also depictions of livestock and scenes of war.

We might add that women do not usually appear in the rock art of Ennedi, but when they do, they are easily identifiable because they are depicted wearing long skirts—sometimes with fringes and necklaces!

There are also some easily recognizable schematic symbols that might make us think of a floor plan of a house or a village, or a bag containing objects—is it their luggage?

A distinctive feature of the Ennedi is that horses and camels are not clearly separated into two distinct periods, as is the case in other parts of the Sahara. Although horses appeared earlier, both animals feature in depictions that specialists generally group within the same late, or camelid, period.

Why did they paint them? That’s something that escapes us. It escapes scientists, too. It’s impossible to know without talking to them—the people who did that work.

Those drawings… Were they some kind of message for the next group to pass by? A decoration for the place they inhabited temporarily or permanently? Were they part of a ritual to ask the gods for good luck in hunting or good health for the community? Perhaps it’s a little bit of all of that. Perhaps it’s a “snapshot” of the moment—a way to capture reality and preserve it in memory.

Main Rock Art Sites We Have Explored in Ennedi

Although they are classified and organized both by period and by style within each period (each of which spans several thousand years), you should know that in a single location we can find paintings from different eras, sometimes overlapping.

In other words, despite a gap of thousands of years, people used the same site to create their art on the rock. This is something humans have been doing since the beginning, including on other continents such as Europe. If you really think about it, it’s mind-boggling.

Although the rock art of Ennedi can be found throughout the rock formations of this national park, there is indeed one area that stands out. It is the area located beyond the city of Fada.

Spanning about 50 km to the southwest and west, we find, among others, the sites of Monte Fada, Elikeo, Terkei Barakatra, and Gaora Halagana. There, you can see examples of the three periods we have described, and on our trips we always stop at several of them.

Gaora Halagana

Gaora Halagana is one of the sites with the largest number of rock paintings, including many overlapping depictions from different periods

On its walls, you can see a scene of a group dance, with everyone lined up and linked arm-in-arm, with their arms around each other’s shoulders. In that same scene, off to one side, you can also see a funeral scene that has even been featured on Chadian postage stamps. You can see it at this link —it’s incredible!

There are also herds of cows, women, symbols that look like a maze, and scenes such as one of a woman cooking in a pot and another of a woman with her son beside a hut. There are hundreds of drawings, and you can spend hours exploring them.

In addition, this place is known as “the caves of youth”, although the Tubu call it “the place of the elegant people.” Even today, there are families who hold their parties and celebrations there, judging by the food scraps, recent campfires, and some other debris. They continue to go there, just as communities did thousands of years ago, to do the same things.

Manda Guele

Another major highlight is Manda Guele. The site is particularly notable for its high-quality paintings from the most recent period

Men riding camels, with their saddles, swords, adornments, and African hairstyles. Women. Herds of long-horned cows like those of Lake Chad. Everyday objects, such as a kind of jar that appears to contain food or other items. The aforementioned musicians playing their harps…

Terkei Barakatra

Terkei is another one of our favorite places. In the local language, its name means ‘the white pools’, and it is a rocky massif with caves that open to the outside and are connected to one another.

As with the previous ones, here is another fine example of Ennedi rock art, and the “army”—or group of horsemen riding their horses—is particularly noteworthy. They appear to be flying, and some are wearing large hats reminiscent of those worn by the modern-day Fulani.

You can also see giraffes, goats, camels, and even a huge cow painted on the ceiling with a shepherd standing next to it.

Beyond these highlights, as we mentioned at the beginning, you can make your own discoveries by taking a break along the way or before going to sleep, as long as there’s still daylight.

Walking among the towers and massive stone walls, feeling the sand beneath your feet, and gazing at the small rock shelters can hold more than a few surprises. And it’s a wonderful feeling.

The Transformation of the Sahara

The paintings of Ennedi don’t just tell the story of the people who lived here. They also give us a sense of how the landscape changed over time.

Giraffes, elephants, ostriches, and other animals depicted in the early periods are a reminder of a Sahara that was much wetter than it is today. Later, large herds of livestock reflect the growing importance of pastoral societies. Finally, horses and dromedaries appear, perfectly adapted to an increasingly arid landscape.

That is why exploring these shelters is also a journey through the environmental history of the Sahara: from landscapes with greater water availability to the extreme aridity that characterizes the Ennedi today.

An Ancient and Extremely Fragile Heritage

It is essential that you remember to respect this heritage.

Don’t touch the paintings with your hands, avoid using a flash (it doesn’t add anything and could damage the paintings), don’t light a fire nearby, and of course, don’t take anything from there. They’ve been there for thousands of years, but they’re fragile, and it’s been shown that the increase in visitors has accelerated their deterioration.

If you’re interested in learning more about this, we recommend visiting the website of the AARS, the Association of Friends of Saharan Rock Art.

We hope you found this article on the rock art of Ennedi interesting and that it serves as yet another incentive for you to explore this unique desert with us.

Rock art is just one of the reasons to take a trip to Chad and the Ennedi. Stone arches, canyons, gueltas, vast dunes, and nomadic camps make this mountain range one of the most extraordinary landscapes in the Sahara.

At Kumakonda, we’ve been exploring the Ennedi region for years, and we continue to visit these rock shelters on our expeditions through northern Chad. You can check out our trips to Chad and upcoming routes that cross the Ennedi Massif.

Feel free to email us at info@kumakonda.com to find out about upcoming expeditions to the Ennedi.