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Lixus is the site of an ancient city located in Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
 just north of the modern seaport of Larache on the bank of the Loukkos River. The location was one of the main cities of the Roman province
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
 Mauretania Tingitana
Mauretania Tingitana

Mauretania Tingitana was a Roman province located in northwestern Africa, coinciding roughly with the northern part of modern Morocco and Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla....
.

s Ancient site's located north of the modern seaport of Larache
Larache

Larache is an important harbour town in the region Tanger-T?touan in northern Morocco. It was founded in the 7th century when a group of Muslim soldiers from Arabia extended their camp at Lixus onto the south bank of the Oued Loukos ....
, on the right bank of the wadi
Wadi

Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley; in some cases it may refer to a dry Stream bed that contains water only during times of heavy rain....
 Loukkos (Locus River), on Tchemmich Hill which dominates the plain 80 metres above the marshes through which the Loukkos flows.






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Lixus is the site of an ancient city located in Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
 just north of the modern seaport of Larache on the bank of the Loukkos River. The location was one of the main cities of the Roman province
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
 Mauretania Tingitana
Mauretania Tingitana

Mauretania Tingitana was a Roman province located in northwestern Africa, coinciding roughly with the northern part of modern Morocco and Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla....
.

Geography

Lixus Ancient site's located north of the modern seaport of Larache
Larache

Larache is an important harbour town in the region Tanger-T?touan in northern Morocco. It was founded in the 7th century when a group of Muslim soldiers from Arabia extended their camp at Lixus onto the south bank of the Oued Loukos ....
, on the right bank of the wadi
Wadi

Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley; in some cases it may refer to a dry Stream bed that contains water only during times of heavy rain....
 Loukkos (Locus River), on Tchemmich Hill which dominates the plain 80 metres above the marshes through which the Loukkos flows. The site is approximately three kilometres of the Atlantic ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 and entrance of Loukkos River. It is included in the urban perimeter of the town of Larache. To the north, Lixus is surrounded by hills which themselves are bordered in north and east one forest
Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
 of cork oak
Cork Oak

The Cork Oak is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section List of Quercus species#Section Cerris. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa....
s.

The fish processing industry is strongly to the fore though there are baths, unknown temples, 4th century walls, a mosaic floor and the intricate confusing ruins of the Capitol Hill to explore.

History

Ancient city of Mauretania Tingitana
Mauretania Tingitana

Mauretania Tingitana was a Roman province located in northwestern Africa, coinciding roughly with the northern part of modern Morocco and Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla....
, Lixus was settled
Settler

A settler is a person who has human migration to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonies the area. Settlers are generally people who take up Sedentary and agriculture it, as opposed to nomads....
 by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC and was later annexed by Carthage
Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
. Lixus was part of a chain of Phoenician/Carthaginian settlements along the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 coast of what is now present day Morocco; other major settlements further to the south are Chellah
Chellah

File:Chella Rabat Morocco roman street.jpgChellah, or Sala Colonia is a necropolis and complex of ancient and medieval ruins that lie on the outskirts of Rabat, Morocco?s Ville Nouvelle, or modern section....
 and Mogador. When Carthage fell to Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
, Lixus, Chellah and Mogador became Roman imperial outpost
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
s.

The ancient sources agree to make of Lixus a counter Phoenician, which is confirmed by the archaeological discovery
History of archaeology

The history of archaeology has been one of increasing professionalisation, and the use of an increasing range of techniques, to obtain as much data on the site being examined as possible....
 of material dating from 8th century BC. It gradually grew in importance, later coming under Carthaginian domination
Carthage

Carthage refers both to an ancient city in present-day Tunisia, and a modern-day suburb of Tunis. The civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic or Carthaginian....
. After the destruction of Carthage, Lixus fell to Roman control and was made an imperial colony
Colony

In politics and in history, a colony is a Territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies....
, reaching its zenith during the reign of the emperor Claudius I
Claudius

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54....
  (AD 41-54).

Some ancient Greek writers
Ancient Greek literature

Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Greek language until the 4th century AD....
 located at Lixus the mythological garden of the Hesperides
Hesperides

In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in Ancient Libya, or on a distant blessed island at the edge of the encircling Oceanus....
, the keepers of the golden apple
Golden apple

The golden apple is an element that appears in some countries' legends or fairy tales. Usually, a hero has to retrieve the golden apple s hidden or stolen by an antagonist like a dragon or other monster....
s. The name of the city which was often mentioned by writers from Hanno the Navigator
Hanno the Navigator

Hanno the Navigator was a Carthage explorer c. 500 BC, best known for his naval exploration of the African coast....
 to the Geographer of Ravenna and confirmed by the legend on its coins and by an inscription. The ancients believed this to be the site of the Garden of the Hesperides and of a sanctuary of Hercules
Hercules

Hercules is the Ancient Rome name for the mythical Ancient Greece hero Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Early Roman sources suggest that the imported Greek hero supplanted a mythic Italian shepherd called "Recaranus" or "Garanus", famous for his strength....
, where Hercules gathered gold apples, more ancient than the one at Cadiz
Cádiz

C?diz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the province of C?diz, one of eight which make up the Autonomous communities of Spain of Andalusia....
, Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
. However, there are no grounds for the claim that Lixus was founded at the end of the second millennium BC. Life was maintained there nevertheless until the Islamic conquest of North Africa by the presence of a mosque
Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, ? . The word "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque ,...
 and a house with patio with the covered walls of painted stuccos.

Archaeological works

The site was excavated continuously from 1948 to 1969. In the 1960s, Lixus was restored and consolidated. In 1989, following the international conference which brought together many scientists, specialists, historians and archaeologists of the Mediterranean around history and archaeology of Lixus, the site was partly enclosed. An enormous work was undertaken on study of the mosaic
Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other material. It may be a technique of Decorative arts, an aspect of interior decoration or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral....
s of the site which constitute a very rich unit. In addition to the vestiges interesting to discover the such mosaics whose one of sixty meters representing Poseidon
Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the god Nethuns in Etruscan mythology was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon....
. Lixus was on a surface of approximatively 75 hectares. The excavated zones constitute approximately 20% of the total surface of the site.

See also

  • Tamuda
    Tamuda

    Tamuda is an Archeology site in Morocco situated near Tetouan. It was founded in the 3rd century BC by the Mauretanians.The city was one of the major cities of the Roman province Mauretania Tingitana....
  • Volubilis
    Volubilis

    Volubilis is an List of archaeological sites in Morocco situated near Meknes between Fez, Morocco and Rabat along the N13 road . The nearest town is Moulay Idriss....


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