Iles Purpuraires

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Iles Purpuraires
Iles Purpuraires with Mogador island in the background seen from the Essaouira citadel.jpg
Iles Purpuraires, including Mogador island, seen from the Essaouira citadel
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Iles Purpuraires
Geography
Location North Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates 31°29′50″N9°47′12″W / 31.49722°N 9.78667°W / 31.49722; -9.78667
Major islands Mogador Island
Administration
Region Marrakesh-Safi
Province Essaouira Province
Official nameArchipel et dunes d'Essawira
Designated15 January 2005
Reference no.1469 [1]

Iles Purpuraires are a set of small islands off the western coast of Morocco at the bay located at Essaouira, the largest of which is Mogador Island. These islands were settled in antiquity by the Phoenicians, chiefly to exploit certain marine resources and as a promontory fort. (Hogan, 2007) Roman occupation of western Morocco beginning in the 1st century AD continued the use of the islets, principally for manufacture of a royal blue dye from the marine organisms Murex. Ile Purpuraires is associated with the color purple and Hanno the Navigator may have visited these islands. Neolithic archaeological studies in this area indicate indigenous peoples of western Morocco fished in this locale circa 3000 to 2000 BC. (Trakadas, 2002) The islands have been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 2005. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Archipel et dunes d'Essawira". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 11 September 2018.