The 'Martians' of Tassili
In the Sahara, ancient rock paintings show tall, round-headed figures that one explorer nicknamed 'the great Martian god'.
What was reported
The Tassili n'Ajjer plateau in the Sahara holds thousands of rock paintings, made over thousands of years when the region was green. In the 1950s, the French explorer Henri Lhote copied many of them, including tall figures with large, round, featureless heads.
Lhote jokingly nicknamed one large figure 'the great Martian god'. Writers including Erich von Däniken later suggested the figures showed visitors in space helmets.
Explanations offered
Archaeologists think the round-headed figures show people in ceremonial masks or headdresses, or spiritual beings in local belief. Similar masks are still used in ceremonies in parts of Africa. The paintings are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- When
- Paintings thousands of years old; named in the 1950s
- Where
- Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria
- Witnesses
- Explorer Henri Lhote and later visitors
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.