Group of scientists uncover valuable remnants of a 16th century Moroccan jewish community

Group of scientists uncover valuable remnants of a 16th century Moroccan jewish community
Monday 27 December 2021 - 17:07

A team made up of Moroccan, Israeli, and French archaeologists and researchers, uncovered precious material dating back approximately 600 years in a synagogue in the village of Aguerd, in the rural commune of Tamanart, province of Tata, in the Souss-Massa region.

The team was able to find traces of “ancient buildings, in addition to parts of religious books and amulets,” as well as life necessities that were used in the era.

Reports from the site say a small Jewish community lived in the area from the 16th century to the early 19th century. Recently, researchers from Israel, Morocco and France conducted salvage excavations in its ruined synagogue.

David Goeury, a member of the research and excavation project, told Hespress EN that “the site was identified during a reconnaissance mission to define the scope of a research program organized back in April 2021, which saw the participation of researchers Orit Ouaknine, Yuval Yekutieli, Saghir Mabrouk and Salima Naji.”

Goeury said that during a research visit to the synagogue of the area, “the team identified hundreds of fragments of religious texts scattered on the floor.”

It was then, Goeury added, that the team “decided to organize an emergency archaeological excavation by initiating a request to the Directorate of Heritage, but also an operation to restore the buildings to prevent further collapses and damages,” which had occurred after repeated natural triggers and some looting incidents.

Several thousand fragments are currently stored awaiting scientific study, under the authority of the Regional Department of the Ministry of Culture in Agadir.

While the majority of these fragments come from printed religious books well known to judeo specialists, hundreds of documents are handwritten and provide valuable information about religious practices from back in the day, as well as the daily life of the Jewish community in the Moroccan region.

The team of researchers hopes to be able to understand the interactions between different Moroccan Jewish communities, but also between these communities and the Muslim ones living in the area. Goeury added that “this first excavation was a way to establish a multidisciplinary intervention protocol linking archaeology, anthropology, history, architecture, and geography.”

The excavation campaign first launched on November 21, 2021, and concluded on November 25, which “allowed the collection of most of the archaeological material present on the ground and in the rubble,” says our source.

Goeury told Hespress EN he and his team “hope to be able to carry out a second campaign of excavations to conduct more in-depth investigations on the site,” mainly by carrying out a stratigraphy to understand the history of the construction of this building.

In addition to the collection of material, architect Salima Naji carried out an emergency restoration of the building with a team of master masons to rehabilitate the walls and especially to redo the entire ceiling of the synagogue.

The intervention also concerned adjacent buildings to the synagogue that make up the old Mellah. The objective is to secure the site to allow future excavations, while the team is working with authorities on opening the site to visitors and tourists.

The initial excavation is “the first of a multi-year research program,” which is set to involve numerous synagogues and Jewish neighborhoods in southern and eastern Morocco, according to our sources.

The team’s primary objective is “to deepen available knowledge of these historic communities that played an important role in Saharan trade,” in addition to bridging the gaps in history pertaining to interfaith coexisting communities in Morocco, and Northern Africa as a whole.

The findings are expected to constitute “a better understanding of how religious, economic, political and cultural networks were concretely articulated in territories as specific as the Saharan oases or the mountain valleys,” concludes David Goeury.

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