First of its kind: Ruins of ancient Roman watchtower found in Morocco

An old Roman watchtower ruins were discovered in Volubilis, Morocco, by a team of Moroccan and Polish archaeologists, resulting in a ground-breaking discovery.

The joint work on the site were announced back in October 2021.

Published in the largest public information service devoted to Polish science called “Science in Poland,” on October 25, the discovery is about a military observation tower from the times of the Roman Empire in the city of Volubilis.

The discovery is significant because other military observation towers of a similar design had been found during excavations in Scotland, Germany, and Romania, but not in Morocco.

“On the basis of satellite images, we selected several sites that have a common feature: an oval plan with a rectangle or a square inscribed in it. We chose this particular site because it is located farthest to the south. There could be a place associated with the presence of the Roman army,” said Maciej Czapski, archaeologist, and Ph.D. student from the University of Warsaw, and a member of the Polish-Moroccan research group in an interview with the  Polish press agency PAP.

The researcher also mentions that preparing for the excavation operation involved spending a significant amount of time in libraries in London and Rimini. Although reading previously published papers and analyzing satellite photographs were both time-consuming efforts, success was not guaranteed, he emphasized.

A 500–600 meter movement in the starting location would have caused us to strike the void, therefore we were fortunate to begin our excavation there, said Czapski.

He declared that the discovery significantly advances the understanding of the Roman limes, a system of fortifications built along the empire’s periphery that were particularly vulnerable to invasions.

The researcher described what was found as foundations and wall pieces that have survived to a height of roughly 80 cm. 

On the south side, which surrounds the structure, a piece of the interior staircase as well as some cobblestones have been preserved. The exterior wall, however, has not endured. The broken tile pieces are in terrible shape.

Scientists also found fragments of armaments and accessories of Roman legionnaires.

The duration of the Roman defense system’s use in Morocco is a mystery that scientists are trying to solve.

“So far, we had a very wide dating – we knew that between the 1st and 3rd century AD there was a defense system of the Roman province. We want to narrow down the chronology and explain whether it was one system or different systems operated at different times. We have a hypothesis that the system we discovered operated during the reign of Antoninus Pius. We have some military finds dating back to this period – around the 2nd century AD,” said Czapski.

The Polish-Moroccan team’s primary interest is in figuring out how the Romans maintained their newly conquered territory and the course of their interactions with the local populace.

The documentation will be finished and a report will be released soon, according to scientists. They will start fieldwork on a separate test site when Ramadan is over the following year. In order to “complete the concept of the Roman defense system,” as Maciej Czapski puts it, the team is hoping to find more towers.

“Next year, at the turn of April and May, we will be digging in a different position. The discovery of the next tower should be easier. We know where to dig and what to expect, ”said Czapski.