The ridge pole seems to be a metal piece held up by two crossed pieces of wood.

Mats and mattresses on the floor.

The most difficult driving conditions we've encountered.

Our own dust is swept in front of us. At times zero visibility. We could watch the sand running down the windscreen.

And the wipers aren't much use.

Drilling for water.  There was plenty around the drill but it may have been lubrication.

Drilling rods were at least 4m long and a stack of about 20 beside the drill. Perhaps expecting to drill quite deep. 

There's a narrowing of the valley and a bit of a windy route around the edge.

A bit of mud wall building.

Just a quick inspection of the heaps of stone.

None the wiser.

We think there is lead mining further north. And we've seen what we think is hematite jewelry.

We needed a guide (Mohammed) to find it.

There's a collection of about 5 about 100m apart.

We think Neolithic burial chambers.

We've read of the tumuli described as burial sites.

Dates have been difficult to obtain. Somewhere between 5,000 and zero BC for similar mounds through southern Morocco. 

As we later read, some mounds don't have entrances.

There's similar to the left and right.

A tad small for housing.

The 1957 excavations seemed unsure if they were for burials or funeral rites.

Protected a little by the desert varnish.

To our uneducated eyes things with antlers or horns.

We've read descriptions of drawings of cattle, with humanoid figures but haven't recognised any of the latter.

No camels or donkeys.

Mineral specimens, a few sectioned and polished trilobites, and some hematite jewellery. 

We didn't have a magnet with us to check!

This was described as a chariot.

We struggled with working out if it was in plan or side view. Settled for plan.

Mohammed seemed to describe a difference between animal and human drawn "chariots".

And an eerie view of  the truck.

We've read that if we look carefully we will see attachments for straps.

The covering stones were carefully removed and replaced exactly as we found them.

Then again.

It was difficult to research this area before we arrived.

A few references from French language websites.

We've since found a UK PhD Thesis on the rock art of Southern Morocco, about 34Mb so we'll wait for good internet.

The mud is better for building!

A longer chain of "chariots".

The rock carvings were on the steep, unwalled, side to our right.

There's a substantial wall around three sides.

The smaller enclosure is separate.

Some of the collapsed buildings are apparently more recent.

This is a large (to us) enclosure. The outer wall is visible in the background.

Tourist numbers are down following the economic crisis which has engulfed Europe. Mohammed is at www.desert-raid-sahara.com

We retired to "Camping Znigue" which is deserted. About 10km N of Taouz and 3km E of the asphalt.

It really is the sun. The half moon appeared overhead after dark.

The 286 km from Mhamid to our campsite 13 km outside Taouz, including the historic sites, have taken us a leisurely 5 days.

Possible in a couple of days. But for a place full of nothing there was so much to see.

So we decided to have a day off to celebrate.