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Department of Archaeology

 

Dr Hamza Benattia

Biography

I am an archaeologist specialising in the later prehistory of Mediterranean Africa (c. 3800–500 BC), with a focus on the Maghreb. I have also published under the name Hamza Benattia Melgarejo. 

I have directed two multi-season field projects in northwest Africa, the Tahadart Archaeological Project and the Kach Kouch Archaeological Project, which have generated new evidence for settled farming, ritual landscapes and long-distance connectivity during later prehistory. I have also collaborated on international archaeological projects across Spain, Italy, Tunisia and Morocco.

My academic background includes BA degrees in History and in Archaeology from the University of Barcelona, where I also completed my PhD, as well as an MA in World History from Pompeu Fabra University.

Research

My research centres on the later prehistory of North Africa (c. 3800–500 BC), with particular emphasis on the Mediterranean Maghreb as a key region for understanding wider interregional dynamics. A central theme is the reconstruction of long-term social landscapes, examining how local communities organised space, produced, used and distributed material culture, and engaged in trans-regional mobility and interaction. 

I examine how these relate to broader processes such as the development of farming, increasing social differentiation and the emergence of urbanisation. More broadly, my work explores the interplay between local developments and wider networks of connectivity, situating North African communities within the long-term sociocultural and economic transformations that shaped the later prehistory of the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Sahara. 

Current projects focus on later prehistoric landscapes and long-distance connections in Morocco and Tunisia.

Key Publications

Key publications

 

Articles

Benattia, H., 2025. Before Hercules. The Forgotten Prehistory of Northwest Africa, ca. 3800–500 BC. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 38(1). https://doi.org/10.1558/jma.34458
 

Benattia, H., Bokbot, Y., Onrubia-Pintado, J., Benerradi, M., Bougariane, B., Bouhamidi, B., Carballo-Pérez, J., Echcherif-Baamrani, O., Elqably, A., Ghayati, N., Hachami, H., Kbiri-Alaoui, M., Lazarescu, R., Lombardi, L., Lucarini, G., Martínez-Sánchez, R.M., Mateu-Sagés, M., Menéndez-Molist, P., Montero-Ruiz, I., Ouakrim, Z., Pérez-Jordà, G., Radi, M., Ramon-Torres, J., Sobrevia-Corral, E., Touri, T. and Broodbank, C., 2025. Rethinking late prehistoric Mediterranean Africa: architecture, farming and materiality at Kach Kouch, Morocco. Antiquity, 99(404). https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10
 

Benattia, H., Bokbot, Y., Onrubia-Pintado, J., 2025. Cemeteries, Rock Art and Other Ritual Monuments of the Tangier Peninsula, Northwestern Africa, in Wider Trans-Regional Perspective (c. 3000–500 BC). African Archaeological Review, 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-025-09621-z

 

Benattia, H., Radi, M., Hachami, H., Qazzih, M., Ouakrim, Z., Elqably, A., Benerradi, M., Ghayati, N., Menéndez-Molist, P., Pou-Cruanyes, A., Carballo-Pérez, J., Sobrevia-Corral, E., Sahli, M., Touri, T., Echcherif-Baamrani, O., Toumi, I., El-Idrissi, O., Kiche, M., González-Mochales, A., Medina-Luque, E.-J. and Benhaddou, R., 2024. New archaeological research in northwest Morocco (6th to 1st millennium BC). Bulletin d'Archéologie Marocaine, 28.
 

Monograph

Benattia, H., 2024. Nuevos datos sobre la Prehistoria Reciente en la orilla africana del Estrecho de Gibraltar (2200-600 AEC). Ceuta: Instituto de Estudios Ceutíes. ISBN: 978-84-18642-60-9

Book chapter

Benattia, H., (in press). Local trajectories and Mediterranean interactions in Early Mauretanian northwest Africa. The Oxford Handbook of the Iron Age Mediterranean.

Job Titles

Research Associate, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research

General Info

Not available for consultancy
Research Expertise / Fields of study
Material Culture
Field Methods
Environmental Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, and Landscape studies

Contact Details

hb746 [a] cam.ac.uk
McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3ER
CB2 3ER
ORCID
Google Scholar
ResearchGate
The Conversation

Affiliations

Person keywords
North Africa
Maghreb
Late prehistory
Material culture
Archaeology of the Maghreb
Mediterranean
Atlantic
Subjects
Archaeology
Themes
Environment, Landscapes and Settlement
Material Culture
Geographical areas
Africa
Mediterranean
Periods of interest
Copper/Bronze Age
Iron Age
Neolithic
Other Late Prehistory

Contact Us

Postal Address:
Department of Archaeology
Downing Street
CB2 3DZ Cambridge

 

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outreach@arch.cam.ac.uk

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