The Ancient City of Lixus

Lixus is an ancient city founded by Phoenicians in the 8th-7th century BC, located northeast of Larache, Morocco on the Loukkos River, about 70 km south of Tangier. The site was continuously occupied through Punic, Mauretanian, Roman, and Islamic periods, reaching its zenith under Emperor Claudius I (41-54 AD) when it became an imperial colony. Ancient Greek writers associated Lixus with the legendary Garden of the Hesperides. Its industrial complex for fish-salting, created under King Juba II, was the largest in the entire Mediterranean. Less than 10 percent of the 150-acre site has been excavated since systematic work began in 1948.