In the spring of 1949, after completing work at the caves near Tipasa, the joint Tufts University–American School of Prehistoric Research expedition shifted its focus to a new site: Kouali Point. Situated along the coastal cliffs just north of Tipasa, Kouali offered the possibility of connecting archaeological horizons with fluctuations in sea level, which could be an important clue for reconstructing prehistoric environments.
Excavations at Kouali were carried out between May and June of 1949 under the direction of Dr. Lloyd Cabot Briggs, with support from Dr. Hugh Hencken and Tufts geologist Charles E. Stearns. The team cut trenches into the ancient beach ridge, systematically sieving deposits to recover artifacts and shells. The sequence of layers revealed a long history of occupation, capped by a ridge formed roughly 3,500–4,000 years ago, when the sea reached higher than it does today.
The earliest levels yielded a classic Aterian toolkit, including ogival tanged points, Levallois flakes, and scrapers—stone tools dating to the Middle Paleolithic (roughly 150,000–40,000 years ago). These finds indicated that groups of hunter-gatherers once manufactured tools on-site, perhaps occupying the area seasonally. Later, as the site continued to be used, the character of the artifacts shifted to what the excavators termed “post-Aterian” forms: small bladelets and backed pieces similar to those of the Iberomaurusian (or Oranian) tradition of the Late Stone Age, around 20,000–10,000 years ago. Still later, unmistakably Neolithic implements appeared, showing that herders and early farmers also visited the ridge.
The sequence suggested that Kouali had seen intense occupation during Aterian times, followed by a gradual decline before its eventual abandonment. Environmental change may have played a role: a rising sea appears to have inundated the site, leaving behind sterile lagoon deposits before a beach ridge sealed the archaeological layers beneath. When the shoreline retreated to its present position, humans returned briefly, leaving traces of later activity in the upper deposits.
Though Kouali did not produce spectacular finds, the ASPR was able to use the site to study prehistoric industries in direct relation to geological and sea-level changes. By situating human activity within its shifting coastal landscape, the ASPR and Tufts team highlighted how archaeology and geology together can illuminate the long-term story of people adapting to North Africa’s changing shores.