Archaeologists have identified what is described as the oldest confirmed defensive structure in North Africa outside Egypt, at the Oued Beht archaeological site in north-western Morocco.
The structure consists of a ditch and rampart system built along a strategically positioned ridge. Researchers estimate that it dates between approximately 3,500 and 4,000 years ago, placing its construction in the second millennium BC.
The discovery is significant because constructing such a large defensive system would have required planning, organisation and the mobilisation of labour. Researchers say it provides further evidence that communities in the region were capable of complex construction and social organisation during the Bronze Age period.
The exact purpose of the structure remains uncertain. Archaeologists suggest it may have been designed to control movement, protect the settlement or respond to competition over land and resources.
The Oued Beht site had already attracted attention because researchers identified evidence of a major farming community dating back roughly 5,400 to 4,900 years.
#legitcameroon#