Moroccan archaeologists work on new site

[LalaMimi]

Morocco TIMES 8/25/2005 | 4:15 pm


An archeological site which dates from the Phoenician era (6th century BC), has recently been discovered near Ksar Sghir, reported MAP.

The site which held four civilizations was discovered accidentally in the region of Dhar Sakfane during work on the motorway section in Tangier –Oued R'mel. An archeological team is at present carrying out an emergency excavation.

After the first observations, the team from the National Institute for Archeological Sciences and Heritage ( INSAP) affirmed that the site was unusual in having been occupied four successive civilizations: Punic, Mauretanian, Roman and Islamic. It overlooked a marshy zone a few kilometers near the Mediterranean, a typical location for Phoenician sites.

The Phoenicians probably occupied the 1.5 ha site in the 6th century BC. The local people, Mauretanians, followed in the fifth to 2nd century BC, while the Romans settled in the site from 40 BC to 5th century AD. A few archeological remains show an Islamic presence from the 12th to 13th centuries.