4 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

From ‘Empty Lands’ to Rich History: Discovery of the First Bronze Age Settlement in Maghreb, Dating to 2,000 BC

Researchers at the University of Barcelona have made a remarkable discovery: the first Bronze Age settlement in the Maghreb region of North Africa.

This significant finding, published in the journal Antiquity, challenges long-held beliefs that the area was largely uninhabited until the arrival of the Phoenicians around 800 BC.

Excavations at Kach Kouch, located in northwest Morocco, have uncovered evidence of human occupation dating from 2200 to 600 BC, making it the earliest known site of this period in Mediterranean Africa, excluding Egypt. This discovery addresses the longstanding mystery surrounding the absence of archaeological evidence from the Bronze Age in northern Africa.

Researchers noted that the Bronze Age (circa 2200–800 BC) and Early Iron Age (circa 800–550 BC) were critical periods for the development of complex social and political structures along the western Mediterranean. Despite this, the African Mediterranean coast west of Egypt has been largely overlooked in terms of its indigenous contributions to these historical developments.

In an effort to rectify this oversight, the research team, led by Ph.D. student Hamza Benattia Melgarejo, focused on the Maghreb region near the Strait of Gibraltar, a crucial maritime link between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The Kach Kouch site, covering approximately one hectare, is situated just six miles from the coast and 19 miles southeast of Tétouan.

Chipped stone artifacts found at Kach Kouch, dating to the Bronze Age period. Credit: Benattia, et.al/Antiquity Publications Ltd.
Chipped stone artifacts found at Kach Kouch, dating to the Bronze Age period. Credit: Benattia, et.al/Antiquity Publications Ltd.

The excavations revealed multiple phases of occupation. The earliest phase, from 2200 to 2000 BC, although limited in evidence, indicates a contemporary presence during the transition from the Bronze Age to Iberia. The second phase, spanning 1300 to 900 BC, marked a flourishing agricultural community, showcasing the first definitive signs of sedentary life in the Maghreb prior to Phoenician influence. Artifacts such as wooden mud-brick structures, rock-cut silos, and grinding stones point to a robust agricultural economy based on barley, wheat, and livestock.

The third phase, from 800 to 600 BC, highlights the adaptability of Kach Kouch’s inhabitants, who incorporated cultural innovations from the eastern Mediterranean, including wheel-thrown pottery and iron tools. This blend of local and foreign practices underscores the community’s active engagement in Mediterranean trade networks.

Benattia Melgarejo emphasized the importance of this discovery, stating, “Kach Kouch is one of the first well-documented examples of continuous settlement in the Maghreb, revealing a history of dynamic local communities that were far from isolated.” The findings aim to correct historical biases and illustrate the Maghreb’s active participation in Mediterranean social, cultural, and economic exchanges.

The researchers believe that Kach Kouch is just the beginning of uncovering the rich history of the region. “This site is a significant step towards understanding the Maghreb’s role in the broader Mediterranean narrative,” Benattia concluded, suggesting that further discoveries may continue to reshape our understanding of North Africa’s past.

University of Barcelona

Benattia, H., Bokbot, Y., Onrubia-Pintado, J., Benerradi, M., Bougariane, B., Bouhamidi, B., … Broodbank, C. (2025). Rethinking late prehistoric Mediterranean Africa: architecture, farming and materiality at Kach Kouch, Morocco. Antiquity, 1–21. doi:10.15184/aqy.2025.10

Cover Image Credit: Kach Kouch is located ten kilometres from the present-day coast, near the Strait of Gibraltar, and thirty kilometres southeast of Tétouan. Credit: University of Barcelona

Related Articles

‘Mysterious’ inscription on ancient Dacia sphinx is deciphered

3 January 2024

3 January 2024

The mystery of the inscription on the bronze sphinx statue discovered in the early 19th century was solved 200 years...

Three-room Urartian tomb with liquid offering area (libation) found in eastern Turkey

18 January 2023

18 January 2023

A three-room Urartian tomb with a rock-cut libation (liquid offering area) to offer gifts to the gods was unearthed in...

New study reveals Dog ancestry can be traced back to two separate wolf populations

30 June 2022

30 June 2022

An international group of geneticists and archaeologists with participation of the University of Potsdam have found that the ancestry of...

A beautiful Medieval key discovered in Claverham village, UK

11 October 2023

11 October 2023

Earlier this year the Kemble fieldwork team from Cotswold Archaeology undertook a small excavation for Newland Homes on the edge...

Unprecedented necropolis site found in Cappadocia, one of Türkiye’s most important tourism centers

8 July 2024

8 July 2024

In Cappadocia, located in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye, known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities, cave churches,...

Lost sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci show that he understood gravity long before Newton

19 February 2023

19 February 2023

Leonardo da Vinci’s centuries-old sketches show that he may have understood key aspects of gravity long before Galileo, Newton, and...

Denmark King’s spice cabinet discovered on Gribshunden

13 February 2023

13 February 2023

The Gribshunden, a 15th-century Danish royal warship, was uncovered to have been loaded with botanical materials, including the first archaeological...

Yale Archaeologist discovered an “arcade” of rock-cut ancient mancala game boards in Kenya

2 February 2024

2 February 2024

Veronica Waweru, a Yale University archaeologist conducting fieldwork in Kenya, discovered an “arcade” of ancient Mancala game boards carved into...

Byzantine monk chained with iron rings unearthed near Jerusalem

4 January 2023

4 January 2023

A skeleton chained with iron rings was discovered at Khirbat el-Masani, about four kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, along the ancient...

1,500-Year-Old Christian Ivory Reliquary Box Discovered in Austria

27 June 2024

27 June 2024

Archaeologists have discovered an exceptional Christian ancient ivory reliquary box in Austria that is thought to be around 1,500 years...

Archaeologists discovered a dragon made of mussel shells in in Inner Mongolia

26 August 2023

26 August 2023

Archaeologists discovered a dragon made of mussel shells earlier this week in Chifeng, North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which...

Early Female Emperors in Japan “Empress Kōken”

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

Born into the aristocratic Fujiwara clan, this extraordinary woman first ascended to the throne as Empress Kōken and became the...

God Pan statue unearthed at Istanbul’s historical church of St. Polyeuctus

1 June 2023

1 June 2023

A Pan statue thought to belong to the Roman period was recovered during excavation works carried out by Istanbul Metropolitan...

Archaeologists discover Ice Age human footprints in the Utah desert —may be more than 12,000 years old.

26 July 2022

26 July 2022

Daron Duke and Thomas Urban, a Research Scientist with Cornell University, discovered 88 preserved human footprints on alkaline plains at...

A First! This Study on Pregnancy in the Viking Age Illuminates Warrior Women and the Fate of Babies

14 May 2025

14 May 2025

A groundbreaking interdisciplinary study by Viking experts from the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester has shed new light on the...