New discoveries in Morocco highlight North Africa's role in Mediterranean history

Fox News announces that an ancient farming society, dating back thousands of years, has been uncovered in Morocco at the archaeological site, which remained largely unexplored for decades.

The Oued Beht site, initially discovered in the 1930s, was the focus of a study published on July 31, 2024, in the journal "Antiquity." Following its initial discovery, the site saw little activity until 2021, when the British-Italian-Moroccan Oued Beht Archaeological Project (OBAP) resumed fieldwork.

Their findings provided compelling evidence of past agricultural use. Carbon dating of charcoal and seeds excavated from deep pits indicated that the site dates back to between 3400 B.C. and 2900 B.C. This makes it "currently the earliest and largest agricultural complex in Africa beyond the Nile corridor," according to the study. 

Prior to this research, little was known about the inhabitants of the area during that time. Cyprian Broodbank from the University of Cambridge, a key researcher in the project, emphasized the significance of these findings, stating that they shed light on the important role of Africans in the development and interaction of early Mediterranean societies. The excavations yielded pottery, stone tools, axes, and various remains of domesticated animals, as well as several distinctive "bell-shaped" pits.

The study highlights significant similarities between this site and other sites of similar age in Iberia, particularly with the discovery of African ivory and ostrich eggshells, suggesting a connection between the Iberians and Africa. The authors stated in a press release that for over a century, the influence of southern African societies west of Egypt on later Mediterranean prehistory has remained largely unknown. 

They emphasized that the gap in knowledge is not due to a lack of prehistoric activity, but rather the limited research and publication efforts. The findings from Oued Beht underscore the Maghreb's crucial role in the development of both Mediterranean and broader African societies.

By Naila Huseynova