Field survey of prehistoric and protohistoric sites in Marouana region (Wilaya of Batna) -New discoveries

Abstract

This study presents the results of an archaeological survey carried out in the region of Marouana between 2021 and 2023. The survey was based on previous data collected during the colonial period, extending the fieldwork area in order to discover new prehistoric and protohistoric sites. The main results consist on the discovery of fourteen new sites and the relocalisation of three previously known sites in the municipalities of Marouana, Oued El Ma, Ksar Belezma, Taxlant and El Hassi. These sites can be described as caves and rock shelters displaying various prehistoric paintings and engravings, escargotieres dating back to the Epipalaeolthic or Neolithic, and protohistoric monuments. They have been inventoried, photographed and described, in order to generate an archaeological map of the surveyed area.