Mauretanian and Roman Settlement Chronology in the Loukkos Valley, Northern Morocco

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeological understanding of the chronology of pre-Roman and Roman occupation of northern Morocco has typically been determined by datable materials from large urban sites. We expand the scope to include smaller sites in the Loukkos River Valley near present-day Larache to investigate the understudied lives of rural populations in Roman North Africa. These sites are associated with the major site of Lixus, which was an important urban center as early as the eighth century BCE. We use radiocarbon dates and datable ceramics from four smaller sites, AC106 (HESP46), Sidi Moulay Abdeslam (HESP17), LA21 (HESP51), and Koudiat Hmamou (LA43/HESP23), in the hinterland surrounding Lixus to better understand local settlement patterns. Preliminary radiocarbon dates indicate occupation extended from at least 180-40 BCE (95.4% range) to 430-580 CE (95.4% range), with the greatest concentration of dates from the first to third centuries CE. This is consistent with the most intensive periods of occupation at Lixus. Radiocarbon dates, along with ceramic chronologies, allow us to refine the chronology of construction and expansion of these smaller hinterland sites. By investigating smaller sites, we are able to better understand the nature of Roman expansion into Morocco, particularly the settlement of river valleys outside major urban centers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40282.0