Between February and April 2015 the C2 archaeo-team went to Morocco to carry out the excavation of Ifri El Baroud (Eastern Rif).

Ifri El Baroud is a reference site for understanding the late Upper Palaeolithic of NW Africa, the so-called Iberomaurusian. Within its archaeological sequence, all the stages of this prehistoric technocomplex are represented, from the oldest to the youngest (21 ka – 10 ka calBP).

The site was partially excavated in the middle of the 1990s. At that time, four test pits were made, one outside the cave and three inside. Our 2015 campaign was focused on the enlargement of test pit number 2 (located in the middle of the cave). The main objective was to investigate the archaeological deposit in its entirety (from surface to bottom) and collect information for a full-scale cultural and palaeoenvironmental interpretation.

Despite of the infinity number of technical problems (mainly related to bad weather conditions), at the end, with a bit of self-sacrifice, the excavation was incredibly successful and all our scientific goals were achieved. Paul McCartney once said: “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” And yeah, we really loved this cave!

Inside the cave with the students from Rabat. Photo: Oumaima Najari

Evening view from the excavation house, Afsou. Photo: Felix Jasiak