The entire territory of today’s Morocco has offered in recent years evidence of all the main prehistoric eras, except for the singular decline recorded in the Mesolithic. The direct and fruitful contact between the Moroccan coasts and the Iberian territory, which will know significant confirmations up to the modern age, is validated and extended in nature and in incidence. The public collections of Morocco have also had renewed scientific interest in recent decades. In particular, the Louis Chatelain Museum and the Michaux-Bellaire Museum in Tangier offer in synthesis an updated historical and archaeological panorama of ancient Morocco.
Punic archeology. – The Phoenician and Punic presence, which is actually part of the prehistoric trade routes, has recently undergone significant chronological and cultural clarifications. Proceeding from east to west, the center of Melilla, the ancient Rusaddir, gave a necropolis dating back to the 4th-3rd century BC. Christ. The building and ceramic remains of Emsa are slightly later than the settlement of Rusaddir. Anterior, however, are the remains of Sidi Abdeslam del Bhar, dating back to the 5th century BC. Christ. In Tamuda, a city with late structures has been unearthed, which for the moment does not allow to go back beyond the 2nd century BC. Christ. Systematic excavations carried out in the Tangier region have revealed necropolis datable between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. Christ. Still to the east, a Punic tradition pottery workshop has been identified in Kouass. In Lixus, current Arcila, the mismatch between the high chronology of the classical sources and the archaeological data, which do not date back to beyond the 7th century BC, remains. Christ. Inside, jewels, ceramics and an inscription document the Punic antecedents of the Roman Banasa. Near the coast, the center of Sala gave material from the 7th century BC. Christ. Finally Mogador, the extreme center of Phoenician radiation on the Atlantic coast, has given mobile material and graffiti dating back to the 7th century BC. Christ. For Morocco religion, please check thereligionfaqs.com.
Roman archeology. – The lack of historical sources on the beginning of the Roman occupation in Morocco gives particular value to the archaeological data. Building structures and movable finds, which date back to the early years of the Empire, document the provincialization of the region and its active insertion into the Roman economy. The most recent collections of data received are aimed at highlighting the new impetus that cereal cultivation had throughout Mauritania, with considerable ethnic colonizing contributions. The 3rd century AD marks a sharp downsizing of the small salting industries, typical of the ancient Mauritanian economy and of sure Punic heritage: proof of this is the restructuring of the buildings intended for them in oil mills or residential houses. The road network differs clearly in major and minor sections, giving more certain prestige and economic and monumental impact to the coastal road that connects Tangier to Lixus and southern Mauritania. The subsequent crisis of the Roman Empire is confirmed in Tingitania with the withdrawal of the Roman garrisons from the inside. The large coastal cities, from Mogador to Tangier and Sala, are protected by autonomous entrenched camps; remains of these fields have been found especially around Tangier and its territory, in the localities of Babba Campestris, Oppidum Novum, Tabernae and Tamuda. they are protected by autonomous entrenched camps; remains of these fields have been found especially around Tangier and its territory, in the localities of Babba Campestris, Oppidum Novum, Tabernae and Tamuda. they are protected by autonomous entrenched camps; remains of these fields have been found especially around Tangier and its territory, in the localities of Babba Campestris, Oppidum Novum, Tabernae and Tamuda.
Christian archeology. – The archaeological evidence of the penetration of Christianity in Mauritania remains scarce and sporadic, in contrast with the martyrological sources. Few tomb inscriptions and some lamps with Christian figures and symbols do not in fact authorize, at least for the moment, to consider the penetration of Christianity deep into the region.
