Scientific investigation of Ivory from Sibi Harraz/Cap Sim and Mogador (Essaouira, Morocco)

Interdisciplinary investigation of an ivory find from Cap Sim (Essaouira, Morocco) conducted as a part of the joint-venture between the Institut National des Sciences de l'Archéologie et du Patrimoine (Rabat) and the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (Madrid) offer a point of departure for further research. By attributing the ivory to the African Savannah Elephant/ elefas africanus and dating it to the early 4th millenium, reference for collocating the region within an overall framework of trade of this valuable material is provided. Finds from the Phoenician-Punic and Roman periods on the small Adantic island of Mogador offer the only further evidence for ivory in this region. Results of scientific investigation of this item are now available, providing further evidence for the African Savannah Elephant, so that it would seem that the precious material was part of the exotic merchandise transiting through Mogador from the middle of the 7th century B.C. on.