# Al-Moghraqa > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Al-Moghraqa > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Al-Moghraqa.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Moghraqa > Source revision: 1356602255 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Archaeological site in Palestine Al-Moghraqa Al-Moghraqa during the 2000 excavations Shown within Palestine 31°28′21″N 34°24′56″E / 31.4725°N 34.4156°E / 31.4725; 34.4156 Type Settlement Location Al-Mughraqa, Gaza Governorate, Gaza Strip, Palestine History Built Middle Bronze Age (early 2nd millennium BC) Site notes Area 15 hectares (37 acres) Excavation dates 2000 Discovered 1996 **Al-Moghraqa** is a Bronze Age former settlement in [Gaza Governorate](/source/Gaza_Governorate) of the [Gaza Strip](/source/Gaza_Strip) in [Palestine](/source/Palestine). It was discovered in 1996 in the town of [Al-Mughraqa](/source/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](/source/Tell_el-Ajjul), which was inhabited at around the same time. ## Location and topography 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] ## History 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](/source/Tell_el-Ajjul), and the two sites were less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) apart. 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](/source/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt) in the 2nd millennium BC. The settlement was 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] ## Discovery and investigation [Moain Sadeq](/source/Moain_Sadeq), the director of the Department of Antiquities in Gaza, discovered the site in 1996. It was revealed during building works that 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](/source/Second_Intifada).[7] The area was used agriculturally, and in late 2023, the Gaza Maritime Archaeological Project documented clearances and demolition in the locality of al-Moghraqa and Tell el-Ajjul.[11] Artefacts recovered from al-Moghraqa were similar to funerary objects found at Tell el-Ajju,l 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.[12] Artefacts found at al-Moghraqa include pieces of [terracotta](/source/Terracotta) [funerary cones](/source/Funerary_cone) with stamps from the reign of Pharaoh [Thutmose III](/source/Thutmose_III) and [Hatshepsut](/source/Hatshepsut).[13] While the cones are unique in the region, they are similar to cones from Egypt dated to the [Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt](/source/Eighteenth_Dynasty_of_Egypt).[7] Despite parallels from Egypt, the purpose of the cones is uncertain.[14] ## Bronze Age sites near Gaza - Tell Gaza - [Tell el-Ajjul](/source/Tell_el-Ajjul) - [Tell es-Sakan](/source/Tell_es-Sakan) - [Deir al-Balah](/source/Deir_al-Balah) - Tall Rīdān - [Tell Muntar](/source/Tell_Muntar) - [Tall as Sanām](/source/Tell_es-Sanam) ## See also - [List of archaeological sites in the Gaza Strip](/source/List_of_archaeological_sites_in_the_Gaza_Strip) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelManleyClarkeSadeq2002939_1-0)** [Steel et al. 2002](#CITEREFSteelManleyClarkeSadeq2002), p. 939. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEClarkeSteel1999215_2-0)** [Clarke & Steel 1999](#CITEREFClarkeSteel1999), p. 215. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a37_3-0)** [Steel et al. 2004a](#CITEREFSteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a), p. 37. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a51–52_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a51–52_4-1) [Steel et al. 2004a](#CITEREFSteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a), pp. 51–52. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESharon201363_5-0)** [Sharon 2013](#CITEREFSharon2013), p. 63. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGreenberg2019180,_262–263_6-0)** [Greenberg 2019](#CITEREFGreenberg2019), pp. 180, 262–263. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelManleyClarkeSadeq2002939–940_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelManleyClarkeSadeq2002939–940_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelManleyClarkeSadeq2002939–940_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelManleyClarkeSadeq2002939–940_7-3) [Steel et al. 2002](#CITEREFSteelManleyClarkeSadeq2002), pp. 939–940. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a38_8-0)** [Steel et al. 2004a](#CITEREFSteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a), p. 38. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a52_9-0)** [Steel et al. 2004a](#CITEREFSteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a), p. 52. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEClarkeSteel1999214_10-0)** [Clarke & Steel 1999](#CITEREFClarkeSteel1999), p. 214. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEAndreou202311_11-0)** [Andreou 2023](#CITEREFAndreou2023), p. 11. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a42–43_12-0)** [Steel et al. 2004a](#CITEREFSteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a), pp. 42–43. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a37–38_13-0)** [Steel et al. 2004a](#CITEREFSteelClarkeSadeqManley2004a), pp. 37–38. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESteelManleyClarkeSadeq2004b329_14-0)** [Steel et al. 2004b](#CITEREFSteelManleyClarkeSadeq2004b), p. 329. ## Bibliography - Andreou, Georgia M. (2023). [Gaza Maritime Archaeology Project](https://web.archive.org/web/20240823052454/https://honorfrostfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GAZAMAP-2023-Short-Report.pdf) (PDF) (Report). Honor Frost Foundation. Archived from [the original](https://honorfrostfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/GAZAMAP-2023-Short-Report.pdf) (PDF) on 23 August 2024. - Clarke, Joanne; Steel, Louise (1999). "Demographic patterns and differential settlement in the Bronze Age landscape of Palestine". [*The Landscape of Palestine: Equivocal Poetry*](https://fada.birzeit.edu/bitstream/20.500.11889/4685/1/The%20landscape%20of%20Palestine%20%20equivocal%20poetry.pdf#page=249) (PDF). Birzeit: Birzeit University. pp. 211–231. [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[20.500.11889/4685](https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11889%2F4685). - Greenberg, Raphael (2019). *The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant: From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700–1000 BCE*. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/9781316275993](https://doi.org/10.1017%2F9781316275993). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-316-27599-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-316-27599-3). - Sharon, Ilan (2013). "Levantine chronology". *The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant*. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 44–65. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199212972.013.004](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Foxfordhb%2F9780199212972.013.004). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-921297-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-921297-2). - Steel, Louise; Clarke, Joanne; Sadeq, Moain; Manley, Bill; McCarthy, Andrew; Munro, R. Neil (2004a), "Gaza Research Project. Report on the 1999 and 2000 seasons at al-Moghraqa", *Levant*, **36**: 37–88, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1179/lev.2004.36.1.37](https://doi.org/10.1179%2Flev.2004.36.1.37) - [Steel, Louise](/source/Louise_Steel_(archaeologist)); Manley, Bill; Clarke, Joanne; [Sadeq, Moain](/source/Moain_Sadeq) (2004b). "Egyptian 'Funerary Cones' from El-Moghraqa, Gaza". *The Antiquaries Journal*. **84**: 319–333. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0003581500045856](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0003581500045856). - Steel, Louise; Manley, Bill; Clarke, Joanne; Sadeq, Moain (2002), "Late Bronze Age Gaza: prestige production at el-Moghraqa", *Antiquity*, **76** (294): 939–940, [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/S0003598X00091663](https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0003598X00091663) ## External links [Scholia](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Scholia) has a profile for [**al-Moghraqa (Q126877407)**](https://iw.toolforge.org/scholia/Q126877407). - [The Gaza Research Project (1997–2000)](https://www.cbrl.ac.uk/project-library/the-gaza-research-project/) v t e Gaza Governorate Cities Gaza Old City Zaytun Quarter Daraj Quarter Tuffah Shuja'iyya Al-Jadida Turukman Nasser Rimal Sabra al-Shati Camp Al-Awda Sheikh Ijlin Sheikh Radwan Tel al-Hawa Municipalities al-Mughraqa al-Zahra Villages Juhor ad-Dik Refugee camps al-Shati Archaeological sites al-Moghraqa Ard-al-Moharbeen necropolis Blakhiya Byzantine cemetery Taur Ikhbeineh Tell Ali Muntar Tell el-Ajjul Tell es-Sakan --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Al-Moghraqa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Moghraqa) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Moghraqa?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.