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Morocco World
16-05-2025
- Science
- Morocco World
Archaeologists Discover 4,000-Year-Old Burial Sites in Tangier Peninsula
Rabat– Archaeologists have made a significant discovery in northern Morocco's Tangier Peninsula, just south of the Strait of Gibraltar. The team unearthed three ancient cemeteries, including a stone burial estimated to date back approximately 4,000 years. Published on May 13 in the African Archaeological Review , the research offers unprecedented insights into the prehistoric funerary and ritual landscape of northwest Africa. Led by Hamza Benattia, a doctoral student, the study aimed to investigate burial customs and the cultural evolution of the region, which remains one of the least studied in the broader Mediterranean area. Despite centuries of archaeological work across North Africa, the prehistoric period west of Egypt remains poorly understood, the study noted. The team explored sites across the northwestern Tangier Peninsula, focusing on the period between 3000 and 500 B.C. Their excavation revealed three cemeteries, some of which feature 'cist burials,' rectangular graves carved into the rock and sealed with large stone slabs. These tombs represent a considerable investment of time and labor, suggesting the significance of burial practices to the region's ancient inhabitants. Read also: Moroccan Archeologists Unearth Lost Chapter in Moroccan History Radiocarbon analysis of human remains found within one cist burial confirmed that the tomb dates to around 2000 B.C. According to the research team, this is the first-ever radiocarbon-dated cist burial in northwest Africa, providing a vital chronological reference for future studies in the region. 'These burials show a rich mosaic of funerary traditions,' the researchers wrote, underlining the cultural complexity of early societies in the area. Such discoveries help fill crucial gaps in understanding the social and ritual practices that shaped prehistoric communities in Morocco. Another remarkable find was the presence of circular engravings, or 'cup marks,' carved into the walls of some shelters. These were often arranged in patterns such as circles and parallel lines, possibly serving ritualistic or territorial purposes. Nearby standing stones may have functioned as boundary markers, reinforcing the theory that these sites held ceremonial and social importance. These findings not only enrich the archaeological record of Morocco but also help redefine the role of North Africa in the broader story of human civilization across the Mediterranean basin. Tags: archeological discovery in Moroccoarcheology discoveryTangier
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Discover Ancient Burial Sites Dating Back 4,000 Years
Archaeologists working in Morocco have unearthed three separate ancient cemeteries, including one stone burial plot dating back 4,000 years, according to a study published May 13 in the journal African Archaeological Review. Researchers say the burial sites, located in the Tangier Peninsula, show a 'rich mosaic of burial traditions' from the ancient community. To date, there has been precious little work conducted into the history of burial rituals in the area. "It is a sad reality that the later prehistoric funerary and ritual landscapes of North Africa west of Egypt remain, despite extensive investigation over the past 200 years, the least widely known and understood in the Mediterranean region," the study for sites dating from 3,000 B.C. to 500 B.C., scientists found three sites featuring 'cist burials.' Cist burials are when a hole is cut within a rock to place the body, with stone slabs placed over the top to mark the grave. "Their construction likely required a significant time and effort investment," lead author Hamza Benattia told Live Science, noting how difficult it was to cut stone. Using radiocarbon dating, Benattia and the rest of the team analyzed bones from one of the graves and deduced that it had been built around 2,000 B.C. It marks the first time radiocarbon dating has been used to investigate a burial in Northwest discovered were roughly one dozen shelters, all of which were decorated with rock art on the walls. In addition to geometric shapes, the art features anthropomorphic and human-like drawings, which researchers believe depict ancient gods or members of the community. Several "remarkable" etchings show "eight opposed triangles one over the other, known regionally as 'bi-triangulars,'" the study noted. Researchers in Ibiza found similar drawings, and "they have often been interpreted as anthropomorphic figures, sometimes specifically as feminine representations," Benattia explained. Benattia noted that the discoveries suggest to scientists that the "ritual landscapes of the Tangier Peninsula are far more complex and widespread than previously assumed…with their closest parallels in late prehistoric southern Iberia and the Sahara."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
4,000-year-old stone-lined burial discovered in Morocco
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Archaeologists in Tangier, just south of the Strait of Gibraltar, have discovered three ancient cemeteries, including a stone burial dating to around 4,000 years ago. In addition, the team found a number of rock shelters painted with rock art and standing stones that may have marked territories. The ancient cemeteries show a "rich mosaic of burial traditions," the researchers wrote in a study published Tuesday (May 13) in the journal African Archaeological Review. The archaeological sites are located in the Tangier Peninsula of Morocco. How long the region has been inhabited, and how the lives of people changed over time, is a source of debate among scholars. Researchers note that there has been little archaeological work examining its burial customs and ancient landscape. "It is a sad reality that the later prehistoric funerary and ritual landscapes of North Africa west of Egypt remain, despite extensive investigation over the past 200 years, the least widely known and understood in the Mediterranean region," the researchers wrote in the study. During their investigation of the northwestern Tangier Peninsula, the archaeologists looked for sites dating from 3000 to 500 B.C. They found three cemeteries, some of which have "cist burials," which consist of a hole cut into the rock, with stone slabs that were sometimes used to cover and mark it. Cutting into the rock is difficult, and "their construction likely required a significant time and effort investment," study first author Hamza Benattia, a doctoral student in the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Barcelona who led the archaeological team, told Live Science in an email. The team radiocarbon dated human bones from one of the cist burials, which revealed that the tomb was constructed around 2000 B.C. This is the first time that a radiocarbon date has been obtained for a cist burial in northwest Africa, the team wrote in the paper. The team found about a dozen shelters with rock art on their walls. The art includes a wide variety of geometric designs that feature squares, dots and wavy lines. They also include anthropomorphic, or humanlike figures that may depict people or deities. At some rock shelters, circular engravings that archaeologists call "cup marks" were found on the walls. These cup marks are sometimes arranged in designs, including circles and parallel lines. Image 1 of 2 The rock art scene here is known as a "bi-triangular" and consists of eight opposed triangles, one over the other. The colors have been enhanced with computer software. Image 2 of 2 The rock art seen here has a variety of geometric patterns, which have been enhanced with digital software. A few "remarkable" drawings show "eight opposed triangles one over the other, known regionally as 'bi-triangulars,'" the team wrote in the study. Similar drawings have been found in Iberia, and "they have often been interpreted as anthropomorphic figures, sometimes specifically as feminine representations," Benattia said. Another interesting form of rock art the team found depicts squares with dots and lines inside; similar rock art has been found in the Sahara Desert, the team noted in their paper. RELATED STORIES —Northwestern Morocco was inhabited long before the Phoenicians arrived, 4,200-year-old settlement reveals —Remains of 5,000-year-old farming society as large as ancient Troy discovered in Morocco —90,000-year-old human footprints found on a Moroccan beach are some of the oldest and best preserved in the world At both the cemeteries and rock art sites, archaeologists found the remains of standing stones that stood pointing up toward the sky. A few sites had several standing stones clustered together in the same spot. These stones vary in size, with one of the largest standing more than 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) tall. "Standing stones have widely been seen as territorial markers in prehistoric times" Benattia said, noting that they "may also have functioned as sites of aggregation and ritual activity." The findings suggest that the "ritual landscapes of the Tangier Peninsula are far more complex and widespread than previously assumed," the team wrote in the study, "with their closest parallels in late prehistoric southern Iberia and the Sahara."
