LIXUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

A must-see if you're passing through Larache, Lixus is about 5 km along the Tangier road from Larache. The site lies on a small hill between the first fork on the left towards the beach and the road that continues towards Tangier. You can see a few exposed stones and a green iron gate. You have to pass through this gate to access the site. Lixus has a fascinating history. Since 2019, a small heritage interpretation center has been displaying archaeological artefacts, and explanatory panels tell the story of Lixus over several thousand years. In the near future, virtual tours, projections and models will provide visitors with even more information about this archaeological site. After a short visit to the interpretation center, it's pleasant to stroll through these fields of ruins, imagining this Phoenician city over 3,000 years old. From here, there's a superb view of Larache and the meandering Oued Loukos. The city was founded around 1100 BC by Phoenician navigators, even before Carthage, and was then called Maqom Shemesh or "City of the Sun". Archaeological research has been underway since 1925, and according to the study of ostrich eggs and red ceramics found on site, the city's real history began in the ^7th century BC. Iberian and Campanian ceramics, as well as Punic double-spouted lamps, testify to Carthaginian domination. Between the ^3rd and ^1st centuries BC, Lixus became Mauritanian. This period was marked by King Juba II and his taste for Greco-Roman civilization, hence the construction of solid ramparts and a new temple atop the acropolis. At the same time, Lixus underwent a great economic boom with the development of Mediterranean trade links. Coins have been found with the reverse side representing exported products (fish and grapes). The theater and amphitheater date from the same period. Lixus was probably inhabited until the^5th or ^6th century AD by a Latin-speaking population. Arab conquerors then occupied it, leaving behind ceramics, gold and silver coins and traces of a mosque. Lixus was finally emptied with the development of Larache. The finest archaeological finds on Lixus can be found at the Tetouan Archaeological Museum.