Last week, Yabiladi launched a series of articles on the natural monuments that abound in Morocco. Nature sometimes works wonders; following the Hercules caves, we head east to discover the Pigeons cave (or Tafouralt cave) in the province of Berkane. Immersion.
Mountain tourism enthusiasts will certainly appreciate the Beni Snassen mountains, the Zegzel valley, its eponymous wadi and the famous village of Tafouralt. Just 2 kilometers east of this rustic village is Pigeon Cave with its 55 meter deep gallery and arched entrance. It derives its name from the presence of numerous pigeons which take refuge there.
Pigeon Cave is now a nationally listed site. He is even in the running to integrate UNESCO World Heritagethe file having been filed in July 1995.
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Objects 82,500 years old
For archeology enthusiasts, the site is a veritable gold mine testifying to the history of humanity. The cave was first reported in 1908. According to the association “Nature and Heritage”it delivered 180 skeletons of prehistoric men and many varied lithic tools.
The National Institute of Archaeological Sciences and Heritage (INSAP), accompanied by a Moroccan-English team, carried out excavations there from 2003. In 2007, the team led by Abdeljalil Bouzougar, teacher-researcher at the INSAP, discovered objects of adornment which are among the oldest in the world. Different dating methods have been used, and the result is clear: these objects are approximately 82,500 years old. This research has made it possible to confirm “the importance of the Pigeon cave at the international level”, had entrusted Mohamed Boutchich, president of “Nature and Heritage”, to Yabiladi. The ornaments make the Grotte des Pigeons a natural passage for a better understanding of humanity.
Skeletons were also exhumed from the necropolis in the cave. One of them showed traces of trepanation, considered the oldest surgical operation in the world, according to specialists. X-rays revealed a healing process, indicating that the patient had survived the operation.
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The Pigeons Cave during an archaeological dig / Archive – DR
Perforated shells dating back 100,000 years
In 2010, research by scientists led to the discovery of burials of seven babies 12,000 years old and perforated shells dating back 100,000 years. The babies were in blocks of blue colored limestone covered with red ochre, still visible on the bones, écrit Morocco today.
Children would have had a very important place in the life of the Iberomaurusians, an Upper Paleolithic population in North Africa, who existed more than 12,000 years ago, says Abdeljalil Bouzougga, director of the Pigeon Cave excavations.
“They were buried in a seated or slightly bent position. Unlike the burials of adults, those of babies were never disturbed to make way for other burials.
