Mesmerised by the marvels
of Algeria from above, a programme presented on SBS TV
Australia, Saturday 6th April 2019, one is repeatedly
astonished by the wonder and beauty of place. Part 2 of this
presentation was eagerly anticipated after enjoying the visual
delights and intrigues of the first segment. This time, the camera
was to travel east and then south, into the limits of the Algerian
Sahara, a desert that astonishingly, is, in total, larger than the
whole of Australia.
The vistas of the
desert opened up. Images of the desert towns appeared as beautiful
patterns of tight, protective habitation. As the camera moved south,
it passed over a circular structure in the middle of what appeared to
be nowhere. Sand stretched from horizon to horizon around these
concentric walls as the voice-over described “a casah – perhaps
the last Jewish caravanserai in existence.” What was it – a
‘casah’? This was the phonetic, best-guess spelling that was
quickly jotted down as something to be followed up. The structure
looked just like the brochs scattered around Scotland and its western
and northern islands. The similarity in aerial appearance to the most
complete broch in existence, that on the island of Mousa off the east
coast of Shetalnd mainland, was remarkable. One had to find out more
about this desert structure.
Ksar de Draa
Mousa broch
The search started
with Googling ‘casah,’ but the corrected suggestion was ‘casbah.’
The video was replayed on ‘Catch Up,’ and the original sounding
was confirmed – ‘casah.’ The end was an ‘r’ sound, but the
guessed ‘h’ seemed a reasonable proposition given the Arabic
source. The word was certainly not ‘casbah.’ Maybe it started
with a ‘k’? This was tried and ‘kasah’ turned out to be an old
Hebrew word sounding like ‘kaw-saw’ meaning to become sated,
be gorged with food. It had been used once in the King James
version of the Bible. One seemed to be getting close, but realised
the word was not kasah.+
Ksar de Draa, Timimoun George Steinmetz
The search then
moved on to other strategies. Why not search for ‘circular
structures in Algerian desert’ and see what images might turn up.?
The ‘casah’ would be easy to identify. Nothing like the shape
seen previously in the programme appeared in the images. More and
more variations in descriptive text were tried; eventually the form
appeared in an aerial photograph taken for The New Yorker by
George Steinmetz - see;
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/04/19/angle-of-vision
The site was opened – there it was with a caption, the mystery
building; the spelling was ‘ksar.’ No more detail other than the
name ‘Timimoun’ was offered. Armed with this information, it was
back to Google, and yes, more images appeared along with the full
name and other references: Ksar de Draa. We now had access to
information and images to discover more about this remote 'desert
broch.'
The idea arose: if
one can discover the purpose of this structure and its functions, one
might be able to discover more about the Scottish brochs, to give a
different beginning for new theories. There was no necessity here
suggesting any parallel other than matching images, but the exercise
could perhaps be useful in freeing up understandings. Research on the
brochs ironically seems to go around in circles, with nothing ever
being resolved. It is as if any final determination would put folk
out of research work: might this threat drive perpetual disagreement?
There could be nothing to lose by looking at the parallels; so the
issues were explored. The immediate similarities that could be
observed were: the circular form; the twin walls; what looked like the singular, controlled access; and the prominent location. The Ksar de Draa was
positioned high in the desert; Mousa broch was built on a low, rocky promontory, but was taller. The text found in flickr.com was of
interest:
Google Earth image
Mousa broch, Island of Mousa, Shetland Islands
Google Earth image
ksar draa c1
Circular, made of a double wall, the outside of stone, the inner
wall in the ground. One door to the north rooms nestled in the double
wall on 3 levels, no stairs for, ladders were probably used to access
the upper floors. The rooms were not adjoining. No window to the
outside. A sentry with a 2 meter wall surrounds the outer wall. the
interior has engraved on a wall contours leaves us guessed a star has
6 branch simbole Judaic .de many archaeological index attests to the
presence of Jews in the region .ci dessou interview Jacob Oliel "The
TOUAT (TOUAT- Gourara-Tidikelt, is now a province
Algerian Sahara
forming a quadrilateral of 400 km of 120 km. It is a
thousand
kilometers of the Mediterranean, south of Tlemcen. Its population,
Originally
consisting of Haratine of African, Berbers and Jews, through
its dynamism,
generated the prosperity of this region become the hub
trans-Saharan
caravan trade of the twelfth and fourteenth centuries.
Little known, the
history of this region was revealed to us especially after the
arrival
the French in
1900 and the collection of stories of local Arab chroniclers - no
convenience
suspects - by A.G.P. Martini, which allowed to share
some elements of
the past resurrected:
- "The
natives say that the ksour Tamentit were created by Jews the year
the elephant.
Thus the Arabs designate the year during which shipment took place
qu'Abraha,
Ethiopian prince undertook against Mecca to overthrow the temple of
the Kaaba;
Abraha rode a
white elephant. "* Iiiii
- "[The]
Arab populations found in this country some of those who had put
culture from the
beginning: it was the Beni Israel "
- According to
the traveler Helal ben Messaoud, who came from Mosul (Iraq) in the
Tuat
Jewish exiles
company, (which) was arrested in the year 131 [748-749 AD. BC] to
Takhfif,
that the Jews had
already evacuated; who settled there he brought with him and Jewish
merchants lived there. They found mention on the graves of Jews who
had abandoned the country,
that they had
arrived in the 4429 years of the release of Adam [...]. It was around
the year 5 after J.-
C. that the Jews
in question were arrived at Takhfif "iv
- My host, Sidi
Youssef Mrabet, had learned from his grandfather that the Jews were
the
first inhabitants
of Tuat and they existed there as a nation in 260 [905]. I could see
MySelf
their synagogues
and their arcaded shops ".v
Obviously, these
chronicles do not provide information about prior periods
journaliste :
ENTREVUE AVEC
JACOB OLIEL
LES JUIFS AU
SAHARA
The information was
cryptic, but it was the only information that could be readily found.
A detailed plan was searched, but nothing appeared. By way of
summary, the text tells us that:
the twin walls are
of stone;
the are no stairs;
the structure has
upper levels;
maybe ladders were
used for access;
there are rooms in
the structure;
the rooms are not
connected;
all openings in
these rooms are on the inside;
there is a sentry
area surrounding the main wall;
this sentry zone is
inside a two metre high wall;
there are Jewish
markings in the stones.
Google Earth image
Looking at Google
Earth, one can see, not only the remoteness of the Ksar de Draa, but
also its detail. The inner area of the structure seems to show
markings that look like subdividing walls, suggesting habitation. The
aerial photographs of the Ksar de Draa show bulbous shapes on the
sentry area that remind one of the medieval castle tower plan forms shaped and
positioned for defence. The images also highlight the castellated top
of the outer circular wall, but these might be from selective
erosion. These details seem to point to a defensive purpose. The Ksar
de Draa appears to have only one entry point. Was the Ksar only a
defensive structure? What was it trying to keep safe?
Ksar de Draa entry
Ksar de Draa interior
Wikipeadia defines
ksar as a Berber
fort:
Ksar, plural
ksour (Maghrebi
Arabic:قصر
qṣer, plural qṣur; Berber: aghrem or ighrem,
plural: igherman) is the North African term for "Berber castle",
possibly loaned from Latin castrum. The term generally refers to a
Berber fortified village.++
Mousa broch
Turning to the broch
form, using Mousa broch as a guide, one can summarise its
characteristics similarly:
the twin walls are
of stone;
the are stairs
(intramural);
the structure has
upper levels;
maybe ladders were
used for access;
there are spaces in
the structure;*
apart from those on
the ground level, the ‘rooms’ are not well defined;
all openings in
these ‘rooms’ are on the inside;
there is a sentry
area at the entrance to the broch;
the broch has only
one entry point.
Google Earth image
The similarities are
indeed remarkable, so much so that one would be happy to confirm the
statement that brochs were primarily defensive structures: forts. The
Ksar de Draa had a sentry protective zone as well as the castellated
edge, (maybe), that seems to suggest an upper protective perimeter
zone as well as the lower fortification. The broch has no such lower
zone, but the entry was secured by sentry posts and distinctive
reinforcing detailing. Were the broch intramural stairs primarily to
provide direct access to the upper perimeter promenade for defence,
to allow this role to be fulfilled efficiently and effectively? The
stairs do not provide drop-off points to any intermediate, intramural
levels, (Mousa), that presumably were reached by ladders or accessed by timber stairs from the interior space, if at all.* #
Lego Mousa
While there are
similarities, there is at least one difference: the Ksar de Draa
stands alone, as the remarkable desert images reveal: but it was
located high, seemingly to give it good supervision of its region.
Was this prime position for surveillance? Brochs appear to be
strategically located too, and vary in height with the prominence of
their geographical location, as if strategic scrutiny of its
surroundings was critical – c.f. Mousa and Dun Carloway: but brochs
seem to be more social, with the idea being that they were located so
that they could see each other; communicate with each other, (Smith^).
Dun Carloway, Isle of Lewis
Mousa broch, Island of Mousa, Shetland Islands
Google Earth image
Might one speculate
that brochs, as defensive structures, were also lookout posts,
perhaps like the Ksar de Draa, and that the intramural stair access
facilitated this function? On the apparent interrelationship of
brochs: the idea that brochs communicated with each other as
positions in a linked chain seems fanciful: see -
https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2017/02/brochs-more-ponderings-on-fragments.html
One has to ask how messages were transmitted, and what variety and
complexity of information might be forwarded beyond the digital yes
and no – on and off; fire and no fire? That fire could be used
appears a poor argument given weather and distance that would make
even a significant blaze look like a candle in the wind. Yet the
high, perimeter space would always be there for the lookout and for
defence, independent of weather. The idea that the brochs might have
been positioned so that the areas being surveilled could overlap,
would only ensure a more comprehensive supervision of the whole
region if one assumes that brochs were working in concert. This
possibility would then at least give some sense to the singularity of
any communication, e.g., smoke for danger, if one has to agree to the
message idea: but might not smoke be rising form these villages just
for cooking and heating? Maybe runners might make more reliable
communicators.
Qasr al-Hajj, Libya
On the hypothesis
that these structures were defensive, one has to ask: what was being
protected? The Ksar de Draa has a similarity to a structure shown by
Dan Cruickshank in his TV programme, Around the World in 80
Treasures. ‘Treasure’ number 60 was the Berber granary, Qasr
al-Hajj, in Libya. This complex has an unusual top to its circular
walls – radial, semi-circular vaults. Did the Ksar de Draa have the same
roof form of which the castellations are the remnants? The idea of
upper security/supervision may require revision. The Berber granary has a
controlled, singular entry, and a small mosque in its centre space.
It is a building used for the storage and protection of food. Did the Ksar de Draa have the same purpose, and a synagogue?
Qasr al-Hajj, Libya
Rock paintings, Sefar
The ancient rock
paintings in the Sefar wadi of the World Heritage region of Tassili
n’ Ajjer, (see:
http://www.fjexpeditions.com/tassili/frameset/sefar.html
), suggest that the region was once all savannah with giraffes and
other wild animals roaming over open grasslands. While the area might not have been as fertile in the time of the construction of the
Ksar de Draa, one could easily assume that the nearby lands were productive,
and that the core stone structure was surrounded by a mud brick town
that used the Ksar de Draa as a protected store for its produce; c.f.
Qasr al-Hajj, in Libya. The Draa region is remote and historically,
in such places, marauders cause problems: hence the need for
security? Recently the Dakar Rally had to move to South America
because of the problem with desert bandits and looters. One could
envisage the Ksar de Draa as being the solid stone safe area of the
surrounding, less permanent, mud brick village. The traditional method of construction
used in the Draa Valley region is mud brick with palm trees being
used for timber – see:
https://www.google.com/search?ei=6uG_XOWEIsOCyAOWsaHACg&q=traditional+construction+techniques+in+berber&oq=traditional+construction+techniques+in+berber&gs_l=psy-ab.3...7971.22895..24533...0.0..0.282.6187.0j20j11......0....1..gws-wiz.......33i10.PZCwN7NY5D0
This study shows lower walls being constructed partially of stone,
so there might be some remnants of a settlement surrounding the Ksar
de Draa surviving today, but this is unknown.
Ksar de Draa showing the lower sentry surround
Gurness broch
Brochs did have
settlements surrounding them, as evidenced by the Broch at Gurness.
There is no immediate evidence of a settlement around Mousa, but who
knows what stones have been removed for re-use? There is a nearby, more recent laird's house with its surrounding dykes, dry stone walls. The first stones to
be selected for this construction work would have been those that were more readily available – the
village stones. Maybe brochs were used for purposes similar to the
Ksar de Draa functions, for the storage and protection of produce,
for the inhabitants to access in the unproductive season - winter?
Mousa broch
There are other
serious matters of debate with brochs: Were they roofed? What is the
rock ledge, the scarcement, for? (see -
https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2017/01/on-brochs-enigma-of-meaning-form.html).
Was the Ksar de Draa roofed? One could understand the need for the
Ksar de Draa to offer shade. The climate might not have been as harsh
as it is today when first erected, but still the need for shelter in
these environs is obvious. The region relies on shelter for nearly
everything; souks remain an easy example to reference. Roofs may only
have provided partial cover inside the circular walls of the Ksar de
Draa, but one can assume that with breezes excluded by the high, perimeter walls, the shading of shelter would be useful. Might the central space have been an 'oasis' courtyard area?
Typical souk, Algeria
Brochs do not look
as large as the Ksar de Draa, but were they roofed? It is difficult to envisage the broch interior as an open courtyard. The day we
visited Mousa, there were several passing showers. One heavy downpour
came across when we were inside, on the ground; we had to seek
shelter in one of the recesses. It was not very comfortable. Given
the effort required to construct these walls, one might assume that
brochs were not erected to offer such uncomfortable conditions as we
experienced. One could believe that the chance of the walls being
roofed was greater than not. Even the option of a circular lean-to
inner roof seemed unlikely to offer any adequate, reliable comfort.
Round house
As for the idea that
the broch was a long-term refuge from attackers, one has to realise that such a
function might almost be self-defeating, with the broch being easily
subjected to siege. The Ksar de Draa has a similar problem, but it
seems that its stores might have been more extensive; and its
defensive perimeter gave a more aggressive, protective prospect than
the broch had, even with the broch's suggested upper surveillance zone.
On the fitout of the
interior, the Ksar de Draa was of a scale that it could accommodate
villagers, visitors, and animals in a ‘caravanseri’ circumstance.
It may even have had a synagogue. The surrounding rooms could have
been multi-purpose, with lower ground spaces being for uses other
than storage; or perhaps for the storage of fodder and water; with
the upper levels being accessed by ladder for the storage of grain
and oil. It is water, its reliable supply or otherwise, that makes
the difference to understanding how these places could have been used
– both the Ksar de Draa and the broch. Without a reliable water
source, it is difficult to envisage the place as a refuge, other than
a temporary one.
Typical plans of brochs
Typical round house plans
The interior of the
broch gives rise to much discussion.## The debates have centred around
the corbelled course inside the broch, the scarcement. This is a
projecting strip of stone that runs all around the inner
circumference, about three metres above the ground. It has been
argued that it was for scaffolding, (Smith). It seems that, because
of its continuity, it was used for the support of closely spaced
beams or posts – see: . . . A larger spacing of structure would
only require isolated projections. This idea seems to point to a
radial pattern of joists that run inwards to an inner frame. Post
holes have been discovered in some interiors. The idea that these
elements might have been a common feature is further reinforced by
the suggested origin of the broch model, the round house, that had an
inner structural purlin ring on posts supporting the roof. There
might have been a floor with an open centre, inside these posts –
possibly for fire and/or a stair? If the idea of projecting stones
being provided for a scaffold was indeed the case, one might have
expected to see far more projecting stones than just one, low continuous
strip, both inside and out – like the Roman Pont du Gard at Nimes.
Round house
Pont du Gard, Nimes - the projecting stones are supports for the scaffolding
The question
remains: how were the brochs built? How was the Ksar erected? Without
seeing the plan of the Ksar de Draa, one could envisage a progressive
spiral strategy for the construction of the set of rooms, set out
with a peg, string and plumb bob. There is not much difficulty in the concept of
stacking boxes. Brochs are different: see - ... The experience inside of these
walls needs more consideration, as does the space between.# Roofed,
the brochs would have been dark and unventilated. The Ksar de Draa walls
would have cut off any breezes, but the shading might have been more
piecemeal and liberal in letting in the bright light into the covered
central spaces. Maybe devices were developed to catch the breezes, as
in the Emirates – wind towers? With the broch, might removeable
skins or roof panels be used to catch breezes, to let out smoke, and
let the light in? The quick, direct access to the upper level would
have made this possibility easy: “David, could you duck up and
close/open the roof please?” We must never think that men of old
were idiots who carelessly put up with atrocious, uncomfortable
conditions. These solutions were real possibilities. The evidence has
all gone: it is only our faith in human nature that can make these
points real. The idea of reconstructing life can be useful; see – https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2016/09/how-architecture-shapes-and-moulds.html This all suggests the broch roof was supported off the posts/purlins
and the inner wall, with a rampart perimeter for a lookout defence,
and for the servicing of the structure – maybe for maintenance too.
Scottish, especially Shetland winds can be damaging.
Was the broch a
refuge as the Ksar de Draa appears to be? Did the population and the
animals retreat into the broch at the first sign of danger? One might
consider it foolish for a group to lock itself up in a place that
could be so easily placed under seige. Supplies of food and water
have their limits. As for animals, even if one ignores the food,
water, and waste removal problems, there is not much space in the
broch for any great herd or flock of anything. If one or two animals
were of critical importance and value, maybe these were housed in the
broch, but not much more might be possible. As for the population,
even of a small village, one has to wonder how and where these folk
might have been accommodated. How large was a village? - (c.f.
Gurness in Orkney). It is simpler to understand the Ksar de Draa as a
refuge - (c.f. Berber village).
Gurness broch
Berber village
Were there levels
inside the broch? How many? If the scarcement was the base of this
inner timber structure, one might assume two levels – one directly
on the scarcement; the other propped off it. It would have been structurally difficult to have another scarcement for an upper floor built into the thinner, inner twin wall. The more one ponders the
cross section of Mousa, the more it appears that the broch is a base
that supported a separate structural cradle, likely to be a timber frame, that had
a twin wall enclosure that contained the separate, critical access from ground
to roof for security, defence, daily well-being, and maybe
maintenance. The Ksar de Draa seems more predictable: daily life
carried on at ground level, with the community stores being held in
the upper rooms. Indeed, one could even accept other activities in
the higher spaces that are a little more remote from things daily and
frequent.
Ksar de Draa sentry area
One is really no
closer to any definitive resolution on the purpose of the broch. It
seems that function of the Ksar de Draa is easier to be more certain
about – defence; storage; and possibly a safe retreat, even as a
lodge or an inn complete with a place of worship. It has been labelled a Jewish caravanseri, the last
one in existence. It does not appear to be an oasis; but might it
once have been? Did it have its own wells? Can one start thinking of
brochs similarly? It might not be an unusual stance, as the
possibilities appear likewise. Architectural forms do have some
resonance with purpose and possibilities beyond place.
Mousa broch entry
Mousa broch interior
Can one say that the
broch was: a defensive structure; a surveillance location; a store; a
refuge; maybe a chapel? Could it have been a permanent residence for
the overseer – maybe a priest; a caretaker? One senses a greater
communal role for these magnificent structures that must have taken
much shared effort and monies/barter to be erected. One could
speculate that the building team either involved slavery or
enforced labour; or, as with cathedrals, was a committed, cooperative
involvement of time and energy for a shared outcome under the
management of a master mason and the specialist team. There are different social structures involved here. There appears
to be a pattern for brochs that does suggest a master mason type
circumstance where specialists moved from location to location as the
demand called. One would expect more variation with a different, more
fragmented system.
Video clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsqLysYf5LA **
In summary, can one
basically describe the broch as a working base, with an accessible, defensive top,
with habitation and storage enclosed in between, inside? One has to know more about
the society to gauge the possibilities of it being a community church, or a chapel, a
sacred place too. It is highly likely that the Ksar de Draa contained a synagogue. Could the broch also have a funereal role – even in part? How did the Ksar de Draa people manage their dead?
One can peruse
both the Ksar de Draa and Mousa broch, and be inspired. Both
structures are magnificent in their own identities. Architecturally,
it would be odd, perhaps unusual, if they had starkly different
purposes. As the influential architect, Louis Sullivan, 1856-1924, 'the spiritual father of modern American architecture,' said: “Form
always follows function; just as function follows form.”
NOTES
+
KASAH
The KJV Old
Testament Hebrew Lexicon
Strong’s Number:
03 Browse Lexicon
Original
Word Word Origin
hXk a
primitive root
Transliterated
Word TDNT Entry
Kasah TWOT
– 1049
Phonetic
Spelling Parts of Speech
kaw-saw’ Verb
Definition
1. (Qal) to become
sated, be gorged with food
King James Word
Usage – Total; 1
++
DEFINITION
Ksar
Ksar or Ksour is the
North African Meghrebi Arabic term for "castle", possibly
loaned from Latin castrum. The Berber original word for "ksar"
used in North Africa by the Berber-speaking populations is aghrem or
igherman. In the Maghreb, the term has a more general meaning of
"fortified village,"or "fort". The Berber word
igherman might be a cognate word, with an identical meaning, with the
word Garamantes, which is the name of the ancient Berber city-states
in modern-day Libya. Ksour in the Maghreb typically consist of
attached houses, often having collective granaries and other
structures like a mosque, bath, oven, and shops. Ksour / igherman are
widespread among the oasis populations of North Africa. Ksars are
sometimes situated in mountain locations to make defense easier; they
often are entirely within a single, continuous wall. The building
material of the entire structure is normally adobe, or cut stone and
adobe. The idea of the ksar as a granary is a confused notion of two
things, the granary itself, found within a ksar, and the ksar, which
is a village, normally with granaries within it. Ksars form one of
the main manifestations of Berber architecture.
also see:
##
3D MODEL OF MOUSA
**
VIDEO CLIP
For context and
scale of the Ksar de Draa, see YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsqLysYf5LA
*
FLOORS OR FLAWS?
Sectional drawings
of brochs are deceptive. Stones illustrated between the twin walls
appear to indicate continuous floor levels, suggesting usable spaces
between the walls; but this may not be so. A glimpse at the spaces
between the walls at Dun Carloway shows stones located as a series of
ties, with no continuity. This gives the impression that the spaces
between the stone walls were not used for anything other than a
practical and structural convenience – to reduce the mass of the
high stone; a matter of both quantity – to minimise the number of
stones that had to be lifted up to the masons; and structural
efficacy – to reduce the mass that had to be held up and
stabilised. In order to get the correct impression of what is really
happening beyond the hope of habitation or storage, the plan view of
the broch at various levels needs to be carefully and accurately
documented. These records would have to precisely identify the various relative levels of the
bridging stones. At Dun Carloway, the stones seemed to be arranged in
an offset pattern as present-day brick ties are; see - ...
#
OPENINGS
On the openings in
brochs, (Mousa), it seems that studies using air flow detectors need
to be carried out. Such research on an accurate, scaled model of the
broch,* would show how air would circulate through the structure in
different circumstances: with one floor level; with two, or three
floor levels, or none; with and without a roof. This study could indicate the
purpose or otherwise of the distinctive openings in the inside walls.
It has been suggested previously, (see:
https://voussoirs.blogspot.com/2017/01/on-brochs-enigma-of-meaning-form.html),
that these slots could be vents for the cavity, to control
temperature, aid drying, and encourage air movement to overcome the
growth of mould that flourishes in environments that are cool,
unventilated, and humid. The study of the air movements could help us
understand more about the physics of the structure and its functions.
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