Several pyramidal necropolises exist in Libya from the reign of the Garamantes, a kingdom that emerged as a major regional power in the Sahara during the mid-2^nd century AD.

Archaeological evidence at Wadi Ajal suggests that the Garamantes first settled in the Fezzan region of southern Libya around 1100 BC. The growth and expansion of the civilisation relied upon a sophisticated and extensive qanat irrigation system known as "foggaras". This system facilitated a thriving agricultural sector that sustained a sizeable populace in desert regions defunct of large bodies of water.

The first reference to the Garamantes dates from the 5^th century BC by the Greek historian and geographer, Herodutus. Herodutus describes the Garamantes as “a very great nation” that was living in an oasis in the middle of the Sahara Desert, thirty days journey south of the Lotophagi. Herodutus also described how the Garamantes hunted "the Troglodyte Ethiopians in four horsed chariots". These "cave-dwelling Ethiopians" are most likely the Tebu of the Tibesti Mountains.

At its peak, the Garamantes kingdom spanned roughly 180,000 km2, centred on the capital of Garama in the Wadi el Agial region, also called Wadi el Haya. The wadi is a long valley enclosed by the Erg (the Sand Sea) of Ubari, and on the southern side by the Messak Saffatet, an arid plateau.

Wadi el Agial was the nucleus of the kingdom where a majority of Garamantes settlements and monuments are located, including Garama and the former capital of Zinkhecra, the Royal Necropolis, Kharaig, Ubari, Hatiya, Ksa Bint Baya, and Bab el Macnusa.