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Archaeological site in Palestine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
al-Moghraqa is a Bronze Age former settlement in Gaza Governorate of the State of Palestine. It was discovered in 1996 in the town of Al-Mughraqa and investigated in 1999 and 2000 as part of the Gaza Research Project. The site was inhabited in the early 2nd millennium BC, and may have been associated with the nearby settlement of Tell el-Ajjul which was inhabited at around the same time.
al-Moghraqa during the 2000 excavations | |
  Shown within State of Palestine | |
| Location | al-Mughraqa), Gaza Governorate, Palestine |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 31°28′22.80000″N 34°24′54.00000″E |
| Type | Settlement |
| Area | 15 hectares (37 acres) |
| History | |
| Founded | Middle Bronze Age (early 2nd millennium BC) |
| Site notes | |
| Discovered | 1996 |
| Excavation dates | 2000 |
When al-Moghraqa was discovered in 1996, it was located in a mixed environment combining agricultural land and sand dunes.[1] It covered an estimated 15 hectares (37 acres).[2] It was established on low-lying ground.[3]
Archaeologists identified three phases of occupation at al-Moghraqa, all dated to the Middle Bronze Age (periods MBA IIb-c)[4] – the early part of the 2nd millennium BC.[5] The date was arrived at based on the artefacts discovered at the site.[4] This period in the Levant was characterised by the development of new societal organisation, with centralised fortified settlements and satellite villages.[6]
Al-Moghraqa was inhabited at approximately the same time as Tell el-Ajjul, and the two sites were less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away. The proximity of the two sites led the archaeologists who investigated Tell al-Moghraq to suggest that it may have been a "satellite settlement" of Tell el-Ajjul.[7] Gaza and its surrounding area were part of the New Kingdom of Egypt in the 2nd millennium BC and economically and militarily important, connecting Egypt to Asia.[8] After the settlement was abandoned, the area was used agriculturally and later covered by sand dunes.[9]
Moain Sadeq, the director of the Department of Antiquities in Gaza, discovered the site in 1996. It was revealed during building works which removed sand dunes in the area.[10] The site was surveyed as part of the Gaza Research Project in 1999, with excavations following in 2000. Subsequent investigations were planned but suspended due to the Second Intifada. Artefacts recovered from al-Moghraqa were similar to funerary objects found at Tell el-Ajjul and the archaeologists investigating al-Moghraqa suggested it could have been used as a cemetery.[7]
The survey work identified two concentrations of activity (designated Site 1 and Site 2) that most likely constituted a single site.[11] Artefacts found at al-Moghraqa include pieces of terracotta funerary cones with stamps from the reign of Pharoah Thutmose III and Hatshepsut.[12] While the cones are unique in the region, they are similar to cones from Egypt dated to the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.[7] Despite parallels from Egypt the purpose of the cones is uncertain.[13]
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