Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars
Phoenician 8th c. BCE → Mauretanian Juba II 25 BCE → Roman Tingitana·Phoenician → Mauretanian (Juba) → Roman·🇲🇦 Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Larache, Lixus hill opposite estuary Loukkos, Morocco
About
About Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars
Lixus excavated by Montalban & Ponsich 1947–, Atlantic garum capital of Tingitana. Recorded context — Period: Phoenician 8th c. BCE → Mauretanian Juba II 25 BCE → Roman Tingitana; Culture: Phoenician → Mauretanian (Juba) → Roman; Field status: excavated; Materials: mudbrick, opus signinum, garum tanks; Condition: port preserved.
Why it mattersKey Phoenician → Mauretanian (Juba) → Roman port with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Collapse cause
- 02Function of enclosure
Theories
- 01Defensive stronghold
- 02Observatory
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 800 BCE Phoenician settlement; temple 1st c. CE
- Period
- Phoenician 8th c. BCE → Mauretanian Juba II 25 BCE → Roman Tingitana
- Culture
- Phoenician → Mauretanian (Juba) → Roman
- Purpose
- Atlantic pillar port of Hercules (Pliny) with 1 ha garum factories — legend of Garden of Hesperides and Antaeus
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1892
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 800 BCE Phoenician settlement; temple 1st c. CE
Initial construction / first occupation at Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars
c. 800 CE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars
On the ground
Structures & features
35.1990° N · 6.1080° W · 85 m · 3 mapped features
- Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars — Principal Structurestructurestructure at Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars — hydraulic feature35.2007° N · 6.1090° W
- Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars — Northern Complexcomplexcomplex at Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars — outlier feature35.1997° N · 6.1073° W
- Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars — Southern Rock Artrock artrock art at Lixus — Mauretanian-Phoenician Atlantic Port Pillars — subsidiary complex35.1984° N · 6.1095° W
Gallery