Ликсус: ежелгі қаланың тарихы мен мәдени мұрасы

Roman/Berber/Punic city in Morocco

Lixus (Berber : ⵍⵓⴽⵓⵙ) is an ancient city founded by Phoenicians (8th–7th century BC) before the city of Carthage. Its distinguishing feature is that it was continuously occupied from antiquity to the Islamic Era, and has ruins dating to the Phoenician (8th–6th centuries BC), Punic (5th–3rd centuries BC), Mauretanian (2nd century BC–AD 50), Roman (AD 50–6th century AD) and Islamic (12th–15th centuries AD) periods.

Lixus was submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage on July 1, 1995, by the Ministry of Culture of Morocco, on the basis of three cultural selection criteria. In a 2019 press release, the Ministry of Culture stated that it was implementing a cultural and economic development strategy, with the intent on working towards Lixus being officially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The archaeological site of Lixus is located in Morocco northeast of Larache city ( south of Tangier) on the right bank of the Loukkos river, from the coast. Lixus was built on a hill of above sea level, and covers , it dominates the Atlantic shore and the valley formed by the Loukkos. It is surrounded by marshy plains to the south and southwest, in which salt factories have been created.

Phoenicians first settled in Lixus in the 8th or 7th centuries BC and the city had become part of a chain of Phoenician cities along the Atlantic coast of ancient Morocco; other major settlements further to the south are Chellah (called Sala Colonia by the Romans) and Mogador. When Carthage's empire fell to Rome during the Punic Wars, Lixus, Chellah, and Mogador became outposts of the province of Mauretania Tingitana. even if the excavated zones constitute approximately only 20% of the total surface of the site.

The first Phoenician structures of the sector correspond to two structures A and L: or a large sanctuary, with a temple in the center. On the ground floor, there are remains of a storage space, and an area with a garden closed off by a wing. It is probable that this sanctuary was Phoenician in origin. In the South west of the quarter, under the courtyard of the «annexes» of building F, an archaeological survey showed a level of Phoenician ceramics characterized by a strong presence of red slip, Pithoi, and jugs of the Cruz de Negro type.

After the Second Punic War, western Mauretania was ruled by kings and the role and importance of fish products from the straits in international trade increased. The numerous fragments of amphorae, intended specifically for packaging fish products, indicate that the city exported much of its catch. The Punico Mauritanian phase is stratigraphically represented by residual furniture dating from the 4th to 3rd century BC. Stratigraphic layers under building G contain fragments of Attic ceramics and amphoric material which attest that the area was occupied by locals during this period. In the west, the excavations located in building E, have allowed the obtainment of a fragment, dating from the second half of the 1st century BC

The southwestern side of the so called "Temples quarter" is known as the ‘Montalban chambers’. Changes in the internal layout of those buildings were made around 30 BC. This included the opening of new windows and doors with voussoir arches in the southern wall. This is an example of the general refurbishment and maintenance work of an urban project at the complex. Before the 1st century BC the city had an open space covering up to 4,000m², arranged on three terraces with a double cistern, as indicated by pottery founded from this phase. and that the movement between them was fluent thanks to various doors. The religious buildings in the east of the site were probably temples and they remained in use even after the Augustan renovation of the quarter. Under the portico of building F, there is a cistern (9.5m long and 3m deep) that dates to after the annexation of Mauretania in 43 AD. It may have been related to a channel located slightly to the southern side

Indeed, The area with the sanctuary, gardens, and some storehouses, which was built in the Mauretanian phase, was replaced by a palatial residence of Juba II of Mauretania covering This residence was larger than the ‘Palace of Gordianus’ in Volubilis, which covered only

The ‘Palace of Juba II’, was on the upper slope of the south side of the «Choumich» hill,., it took full advantage of the panoramic possibilities of its position, it used architectural elements such as apses or semicircular porticoes, in combination with large windows and triple doors. It shows a splendid use of ambiguity between covered spaces (halls and exedrae), porticoes, gardens, and the landscape

Based on this interpretation, building F, situated in the middle of the garden and surrounded by porticoes, would be the principal Triclinium of Lixus's palace. This great Triclinium would have been the venue for important official events, as an Oecus Cyzicenus for feasting while enjoying the landscape. This Roman phase corresponds also to a notable change in the urban landscape. In the northern sector of the "Temples quarter", there were structures that take up the space between exedra H and building G. The hall complex was interpreted as beginning with a Corinthian Atrium with six pilasters. A bath complex probably belonging to the Flavian period was built against the northern wall of the Atrium. Building F was a large temple. This opinion was shared by later authors. Next to the rooms mentioned above, there was a large Oecus which was the most important room in the whole of the western area. It was a huge T shaped hall ( long, wide) adjoining a sophisticated chamber adorned with canopies resting on 7 small cylindrical columns. Researchers have also found a rectangular Corinthian atrium with two rows of plinths M, which served as the antechamber to a rectangular court decorated, and continued to the entrance in the eastern wall, where a great door has led into the large hall G which marked the northern end of the western wing.

Ruins on the hill of Lixus show a rectangular religious building, hammâm, and a mighty fountain on its bank. The cartography does not highlight the existence of any tower or strategic installation in the place. In the 1st century AD, The "Temples quarter" was adorned with public buildings including thermal baths, outbuildings, and buildings with an undetermined function. The quarter had become the northern end of the city which has extended to the salt factories, after the withdrawal of the Roman administration in the south of the province and the relocation of Roman in the northern border of Loukkos river
The row of small temples (C, A, D, and B) faced east., had survived until the final days of ancient Lixus, they had behind them a large open area extended to the end of the western wall of the city. A row of rooms bordered the space to the west, with some internal subdivisions that were built on the preexisting walls dating from the eighth to seventh century. The opus signinum pavements and opus quadratum podium had been built by the early second century

Researchers suggest the presence of arcades and pergolas decorating the terraced gardens, which lead to the hypothesis that this whole area was a large urban sanctuary, including a variety of buildings laid out on different levels: some storage buildings, a temple surrounded by a cryptoporticus, and a relatively large cistern. The city of Lixus in the 14th century was an urban center more densely populated than neighboring villages such as Larache, and it certainly remained inhabited even after the Arab Islamic conquest, bearing the name of Tochoummis. Ruins of houses and a mosque built in the Almohad or Marinid period have survived from this period. Apparently, Lixus was abandoned when the city of Larache was fortified and consolidated. As part of the implementation of the High Royal Guidelines aimed at rehabilitating the national cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture and Communication has launched a vast program of restoration and rehabilitation of historic sites through the national territory of Morocco, involving the archaeological site of Lixus by highlighting the characteristics of the site and promoting the destination on the regional, national and international tourist map to contribute to local economic and social development. In 2019, the Ministry spent 11.8 million dirhams on a new visitor's center and other new tourist facilities, 15 million dirhams on a restoration program, 6.75 million dirhams towards the restoration and maintenance of the site, 4.6 million dirhams on improving the site's surrounding infrastructure, and 2.2 million dirhams towards archeological research and training.