Stories on the Rocks
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 12 December 2018
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Somaliland’s rich archaeological heritage was practically unknown 15 years ago. Now thanks to Dr. Sada Mire, Somali archaeologist and author, medieval Islamic towns, pre-Islamic Christian burial sites, and pre-historic cave paintings have been uncovered. One of them, Laas Geel, has been described as one of the most important rock-art sites in eastern Africa. Dr Sada Mire takes us there to see astonishing rock paintings more than 5000 years old in near perfect condition.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | They're just playing a game, a nil, this archaeologist. |
| 0:04.0 | That's what people really think, isn't it, that you're off to go? |
| 0:07.0 | Absolutely, that. |
| 0:09.0 | Why are you coming here with almost no money on your own time, sweating, thirsty. |
| 0:19.4 | The leading Somali archaeologist, Dr. Sarah Mir Mira steps on a snake. |
| 0:23.2 | There are three of us. |
| 0:27.8 | Gold diggers, climbing this 300 foot rock, 40 miles from Harga at the capital of Somaland. |
| 0:34.0 | I am Bradanta here from BBC Somali and climbing with me my colleague Neil |
| 0:42.0 | Trefeitic from BBC Wall chefs for Dr Sada |
| 0:47.0 | Miri and me this is home endless desert all the way to Ethiopia and beyond. |
| 0:55.0 | But we are here to look at fine arts. |
| 0:58.0 | The paintings as we will soon see, include cows. |
| 1:03.0 | And you don't see a cow here. |
| 1:05.4 | People are herding sheep and goat. |
| 1:08.2 | And that is because the landscape has changed so much |
| 1:11.5 | in the last 5,000 years due to climate change. |
| 1:15.0 | It used to be much greener. |
| 1:17.0 | You had giraffes. |
| 1:19.0 | People were hunting here as well as farming and herd. I feel kind of emotional today. This land is my |
| 1:28.5 | ancestry land. My grandmother was here her her in her goats. |
| 1:33.0 | It's the rainy season. |
| 1:35.0 | I do relate to the fact that you feel emotional because when I came here over a decade ago, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

