Star Wars' Tatooine set about to be buried by sand dunes

Sand dunes, which are migrating over the Tunisian desert, are set to bury a famous Star Wars film set.

The buildings of the fictional city Mos Espa featured in The Phantom Menace, "Episode I" of the Jedi saga, the BBC reported.

Sited on the planet Tatooine, this was the home of the young Anakin Skywalker, later to become Darth Vader.

Scientists have used the dwellings as a fixed geographic reference to measure the migration of giant wind-blown crescent-shaped dunes, or barchans.

Using satellite images of the site, researchers were able to determine the speed of dune movement, which is approaching the buildings once inhabited by such luminaries as Anakin, his slave owner Watto, and rival podracer Sebulba.

Moving at around 15m a year, the front edge of the barchan appears to have made contact with some of the Mos Espa buildings earlier this year, and is encroaching on Qui-Gon's Alley.

The barchan will likely continue on its journey past the city site, which in due course will re-emerge from the sand, but it is anticipated that it will not remain unscathed.