The prehistoric site of Oued Beht, Khémisset, Morocco: an interpretative report on 2021–2022 fieldwork and associated research
Abstract This report presents the first in-depth publication of preliminary data from Oued Beht, northwest Morocco, a remarkable site initially identified in the 1930s and now newly investigated. It is based on fieldwork undertaken in 2021–2022 (photogrammetry, survey and excavation), and associated study and analyses. Oued Beht is shown to be a large site of ca. 9–10 hectares in main extent, with many deep pits and convincing evidence for a full package of domesticated crops and animals. Its material culture is abundant and dense, comprising ceramics (including a local painted tradition hitherto barely attested in northwest Africa but comparable to finds in Iberia), numerous polished stone axes, grinding stones and other macrolithics, and a chipped-stone industry. Radiocarbon dates so far cluster at ca. 3400–2900 BC, but there are also indications of earlier and later prehistoric activity. What social activities Oued Beht reflects remains open to interpretation, but it emerges as a phenomenon of strong comparative interest for understanding the wider dynamics of north Africa and the Mediterranean during the fourth and third millennia BC.
Authors
- Francesco Michele Rega (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2427-9774)
- Louise Martin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2083-813X)
- Federica Sulas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1825-8133)
- Toby Wilkinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4905-0522)
- Jacques Pélegrin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0671-128X)
- Rafael María Martínez Sánchez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8947-117X)
- Cyprian Broodbank (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2176-9666)
- Jacob Morales (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6781-2121)
- Arnau Garcia‐Molsosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5416-2986)
- Rafael Laoutari
- Ilaria Mazzini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2164-7826)
- Giulio Lucarini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4722-1065)
- Lucy Farr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9687-4364)
- Youssef Bokbot
- Moad Radi
- Hassan Hachami (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4325-7083)
- Hamza Benattia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4929-6290)
- Alessia Brucato (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2762-8469)
- Adelaide Marsilio
- Aïcha Bigoulimen
- Lorena Lombardi
Institutions
- University of Pisa (IT)
- Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ES)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering (IT)
- International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (IT)
- Institut d'Histoire du Temps Présent (FR)
- National Research Council (IT)
- Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (MA)
- University College London (GB)
- University of Córdoba (ES)
- University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
- University of Gothenburg (SE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Libyan Studies
- Published
- 2024-11-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1017/lis.2024.19
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- African Studies and Geopolitics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.72
Funders
- University of Cambridge
- Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research