Gelweita ( so, Geel Wayta), also known as Las Galwayta or Galwayta is an
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...
and a key rock art site in the eastern
Sanaag
Sanag ( so, Sanaag, ar, سَنَاج) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in north eastern Somaliland.[Regions o ...](_blank)
region of
Somaliland.
Overview
Gelweita is at an altitude of 7500ft and is near a plateau. The archeological site is approximately 40km or 25 miles west of
Las Khorey
Las Khorey ( so, Laasqoray, ar, لاسقُرَى ) is a historic coastal town in the Sanaag region of Somaliland.
History
The Las Khorey settlement is several centuries old. Between the town and El Ayo lies Karinhegane, a site containing numer ...
. The site dates back thousands of years and is evidence of an earlier
stone-age culture that inhabited the area.
John Hanning Speke, an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
explorer who made an exploratory expedition to the area in an attempt to reach the
Nugaal Valley, described the site:
He also remarked the favourable position that Gelweita lies in for a potential Somali settlement, however the tense relations between the Habr Gerhajis and the Warsangali, the Habr Gerhajis being the proprietors of the area, along with the Warsangali's lack of manpower made that impossible.
Demographics
The area serves as the frontier between the
Habr Yunis
The Habar Yoonis ( ar, هبر يونس , Full Name: '' Said ibn Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin al-Ḥusayn al-Hāshimīy'' ) alternatively spelled as Habr Yunis is a major clan part of the sub-clan ...
sub-division of the
Garhajis
The Garhajis ( so, Garxajis, ar, غرحجس , Full Name: ''Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin'' ''al-Ḥusayn al-Hāshimīy'') historically known as the Habar Gerhajis () is a major clan of the wider Is ...
Isaaq
The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak, Isaac) ( so, Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, ar, بني إسحاق, Banī Isḥāq) is a Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. Pe ...
and the
Warsangeli
The Warsangali ( so, Warsangeli, ar, قبيلة ورسنجلي) is a major Somali sub clan, part of the Harti clan which itself belongs to one of the largest Somali clan-families - the Darod. In the Somali language, the name Warsangali means ...
sub-division of the
Harti
Harti ( so, Harti, ar, هرتي), meaning "strong man", is a Somali clan family that is part of the Darod clan. The major sub-clans include the Majeerteen, Dhulbahante, Warsangali, Tinle, Maganlabe and Dishiishe, while other minor sub-clans ...
Darod
The Darod ( so, Daarood, ar, دارود) is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan was Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as ''Darood''. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripheries ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Archaeological sites in Somaliland
Sanaag
Archaeological sites of Eastern Africa