研究团队在摩洛哥西北部的Oued Beht遗址确认了一处距今约4000至3500年（公元前2000年至1500年）的大规模防御性墙体结构 1。这一发现标志着尼罗河谷以外北非地区已知最早的大型防御建筑，其年代通过2023年的新挖掘工作及放射性碳测年技术得以确立 1。该成果挑战了既往对史前马格里布地区社会结构的理解，表明当时的社会已具备复杂的组织能力和跨区域联系 1。
事实上，法国考古学家Armand Ruhlmann早在1930年代就记录了该处由三道墙和天然陡坡构成的“封锁式岬角”（barred spur），但直到此次研究才将其明确断代为史前时期 1。在此之前，同一区域的挖掘工作已揭示了非洲尼罗河谷以外最大、最早的农业综合体，其年代约为5400至4900年前 1。这项由Giulio Lucarini等人主导的研究不仅聚焦于史前防御工事，还指出该遗址在中世纪（公元11至13世纪）曾被重新利用，期间重建了防御结构并建立了定居点和墓地 1。
A newly dated defensive wall at the Oued Beht site in north-west Morocco is challenging long-held assumptions about prehistoric social complexity in the Maghreb region. The massive fortification, constructed between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE, stands as the earliest confirmed large-scale defensive architecture known outside the Nile Valley in North Africa 1. This discovery indicates that societies in this part of the continent possessed sophisticated organizational capabilities and maintained cross-regional connections, correcting previous misconceptions about the structural development of prehistoric communities in the area 1.
The findings result from excavation work conducted in 2023, where radiocarbon dating established the timeline of the defensive structures 1. The research builds upon earlier excavations at the same location, which had already revealed the largest and oldest agricultural complex in Africa outside the Nile Valley, dating back approximately 4,900 to 5,400 years 1. Although French archaeologist Armand Ruhlmann first documented three walls and a natural steep slope forming a "barred spur" at the site in the 1930s, the new study provides precise chronological data and broader historical context 1. Beyond its prehistoric significance, the site shows evidence of reoccupation during the medieval period between the 11th and 13th centuries CE, when defensive structures were rebuilt alongside settlements and cemeteries 1.
The primary research detailing these discoveries was authored by Giulio Lucarini and colleagues and published in the journal Libyan Studies with a DOI of 10.1017/lis.2026.10037 1. Together, the layered history of Oued Beht underscores its enduring strategic importance over millennia, serving first as a hub for early agricultural organization and later as a fortified community in both the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages 1.
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