- The remains of a prehistoric town dating back 15,000
years have been discovered in Western Sahara.
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- The Moroccan state media on Thursday said a team of scientists
stumbled across the sand-covered ruins of the town Arghilas deep in the
desert of the Morocco-administered territory.
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- The remains of a place of worship, houses and a necropolis,
as well as columns and rock engravings depicting animals, were found at
the site near the town of Aousserd in northeastern Western Sahara.
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- Significant find
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- The isolated area is known to be rich in prehistoric
rock engravings but experts said the discovery could be significant if
proven that the ruins were of Berber origin as this civilization is believed
to date back only some 9000 years.
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- "It appears that scientists have come up with the
15,000-year estimate judging by the style of engravings and the theme of
the drawings," Mustapha Ouachi, a Rabat-based Berber historian said.
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- Berbers are the original inhabitants of North Africa
before Arabs came to spread Islam in the seventh century.
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- The population of Western Sahara, seized by Morocco in
1975 when former colonial power Spain pulled out, is mostly of Berber and
Arab descent.
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