The Lesser Gods

The Lesser Gods takes the viewer through the haunting and evocative rock-hewn galleries of what has been described as the ‘World’s greatest collection of Prehistoric rock art’ – namely, the Sahara’s spectacular plateau of the Tassili-n-Ajjer, high above the remote desert town of Djanet, the brightest jewel of all the Sahara’s oases.

The film reconstructs the 1956-7 French mission led by Henri Lhote, which purportedly ‘discovered’ these paintings – including the famous Great Gods of Sefar. It includes original film footage from both the Algerian war and the Lhote expedition itself, recording much of this spectacular art on film for the first time. However, the film also reveals, for the first time, one of the great archaeological frauds of the 20th century.