This data is associated with the manuscript: Crocker, A.J., Naafs, B.D.A., Westerhold, T. et al. Astronomically controlled aridity in the Sahara since at least 11 million years ago. Nat. Geosci. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00990-7 All data are from Ocean Drilling Project (ODP) Site 659 and include: Elemental compositions measured by X-ray fluorescence Dust flux estimates Carbon isotopic signatures of n-alkanes Strontium and neodymium isotopic signatures of lithogenic material Lithogenic grain size distributions and end member compositions Splice and age model information