# Ksour

> A digital synthesis archive of earthen architectural heritage across the Saharan-Maghreb region: kasbahs, ksour, igherman, agadirs, tighremts, and ghorfas across Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Mali, and Niger.

Ksour aggregates the fragmented corpus of institutional and academic work
documenting earthen architectural heritage across the Saharan-Maghreb. It
does not produce original fieldwork. It synthesises existing institutional
and academic work and attributes every claim to a source.

Phase 1: Morocco-deep, other regions sketched.

## AI use

This archive is published in the public interest. Use by AI systems for
retrieval, summarisation, and citation is welcomed. When citing the
archive, please attribute both Ksour and the underlying source(s)
referenced for any given claim. A machine-readable structured-data layer
is published as schema.org JSON-LD on every entity page; a sitemap is
published at `https://ksour.org/sitemap.xml`; a flat full-content dump is published
at `https://ksour.org/llms-full.txt`.

## Coverage

- Building types: 5
- Sites: 8
- Library entries: 12
- Actors (institutions, teams, agencies): 6
- Persons: 7
- Glossary terms: 20
- Timeline events: 6
- Essays: 1

## Citation

Suggested format:
Ksour Archive. (Year). [Entity Name]. https://ksour.org/[type]/[slug]

When citing a specific factual claim, also cite the underlying source listed
in the entity's References panel. The archive does not introduce facts not
present in its referenced sources.

## Methodology

This archive synthesises existing published institutional and academic
work. It does not contain original fieldwork. Every entity links to the
sources from which it draws. Entries are paraphrased; direct quotation
from sources is avoided.

Source-type honesty is observed: archaeological evidence, ethnographic
observation, and oral tradition are distinguished where the corpus permits.

## Routes

- https://ksour.org/ — home (overview, recent essays, atlas map)
- https://ksour.org/typology — building types
- https://ksour.org/atlas — geographic database of sites
- https://ksour.org/library — academic and institutional bibliography
- https://ksour.org/actors — institutions, teams, agencies
- https://ksour.org/persons/[slug] — individual researchers (no top-level index)
- https://ksour.org/glossary — multilingual construction lexicon
- https://ksour.org/timeline — chronological events
- https://ksour.org/essays — long-form synthesis
- https://ksour.org/about — methodology and citation guidance

## Building types

- [Agadir — A fortified collective granary, particularly in the Anti-Atlas region of southern Morocco, used to store grain, oil, and valuables for surrounding communities.](https://ksour.org/typology/agadir)
- [Igherm — The Tamazight term for fortified collective village or granary, broadly synonymous with ksar in usage but sometimes specifically denoting communal grain storage structures in the Anti-Atlas.](https://ksour.org/typology/igherm)
- [Kasbah — A fortified residence, typically the seat of a tribal leader, governor, or extended family in southern Morocco and parts of the wider Maghreb.](https://ksour.org/typology/kasbah)
- [Ksar — A fortified village built collectively by an extended community, with shared defensive walls enclosing a dense fabric of dwellings, granaries, and communal spaces.](https://ksour.org/typology/ksar)
- [Tighremt — The Tamazight word for kasbah, denoting a fortified residence built of rammed earth with corner towers, typically of three stories. Used principally in Central Atlas Tamazight regions.](https://ksour.org/typology/tighremt)


## Sites

- [Aït Ben Haddou (morocco, ounila-valley) — restored, world-heritage](https://ksour.org/atlas/ait-ben-haddou)
- [Chinguetti (mauritania, adrar-plateau) — partial, world-heritage](https://ksour.org/atlas/chinguetti)
- [Ghardaïa (algeria, mzab-valley) — intact, world-heritage](https://ksour.org/atlas/ghardaia)
- [Kasbah Amridil (morocco, skoura-oasis) — restored, national-heritage](https://ksour.org/atlas/kasbah-amridil)
- [Kasbah Taourirt (morocco, ouarzazate) — partial, national-heritage](https://ksour.org/atlas/kasbah-taourirt)
- [Ouadane (mauritania, adrar-plateau) — ruin, world-heritage](https://ksour.org/atlas/ouadane)
- [Skoura (morocco, dades-valley) — partial](https://ksour.org/atlas/skoura)
- [Tamnougalt (morocco, draa-valley) — partial](https://ksour.org/atlas/tamnougalt)


## Library

- [Moroccan architecture (Wikipedia) (2026) — Wikipedia](https://ksour.org/library/wikipedia-moroccan-architecture)
- [WikiKsour (2021) — Wikimedia Meta-Wiki](https://ksour.org/library/wiki-ksour-meta)
- [Kasbah Taourirt: Conserving earthen heritage in Morocco (2018) — TERRA Conference Proceedings](https://ksour.org/library/boussalh-2018-taourirt)
- [Vernacular and Earthen Architecture: Conservation and Sustainability (2018) — Taylor & Francis (London)](https://ksour.org/library/mileto-vernacular-earthen)
- [Documentation for Emergency Stabilization and the Integrated Conservation Planning of Earthen Architecture Settlements: The Kasbah of Taourirt (2013) — ISPRS Archives (CIPA Symposium)](https://ksour.org/library/ekim-2013-taourirt)
- [The Moroccan Drâa Valley earthen architecture: pathology and intervention criteria (2012) — ResearchGate](https://ksour.org/library/baglioni-draa-pathology)
- [Traditional Building Techniques of the Drâa Valley (Morocco) (2012) — ResearchGate preprint](https://ksour.org/library/baglioni-draa-valley)
- [Rammed-earth construction in Southern Morocco: A reappraisal of the technology (2012) — Vernacular Heritage and Earthen Architecture (Taylor & Francis)](https://ksour.org/library/lopez-osorio-rammed-earth)
- [Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata — UNESCO World Heritage nomination (1996) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre](https://ksour.org/library/unesco-mauritanian-ksour-1996)
- [CERKAS: Centre de Conservation et de Réhabilitation du Patrimoine Architectural Atlasiques et Subatlasiques (1989) — Moroccan Ministry of Culture](https://ksour.org/library/cerkas-overview)
- [Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou — UNESCO World Heritage nomination (1987) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre](https://ksour.org/library/unesco-ait-ben-haddou-1987)
- [M'Zab Valley — UNESCO World Heritage nomination (1982) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre](https://ksour.org/library/unesco-mzab-1982)


## Actors

- [Aga Khan Trust for Culture — ngo](https://ksour.org/actors/aktc)
- [CERKAS — government-agency, morocco](https://ksour.org/actors/cerkas)
- [CIMS Carleton — university](https://ksour.org/actors/cims-carleton)
- [Getty Conservation Institute — institution](https://ksour.org/actors/getty-conservation-institute)
- [Marsad Drâa — ngo, morocco](https://ksour.org/actors/marsad-draa)
- [UNESCO World Heritage Centre — institution](https://ksour.org/actors/unesco)


## Persons

- [B. Marcus — conservation-collaborator](https://ksour.org/persons/b-marcus)
- [Camilla Mileto — researcher](https://ksour.org/persons/camilla-mileto)
- [E. Baglioni — researcher](https://ksour.org/persons/baglioni)
- [J. M. López Osorio — researcher](https://ksour.org/persons/lopez-osorio)
- [Mohamed Boussalh — heritage-conservation-specialist](https://ksour.org/persons/mohamed-boussalh)
- [S. Mecca — researcher](https://ksour.org/persons/mecca)
- [Zeynep Ekim — heritage-documentation-specialist](https://ksour.org/persons/zeynep-ekim)


## Glossary

- [Adobe (material)](https://ksour.org/glossary/adobe)
- [Banco (material)](https://ksour.org/glossary/banco)
- [Caïd (actor-role)](https://ksour.org/glossary/caid)
- [Dar (building-type)](https://ksour.org/glossary/dar)
- [Ghorfa (building-element)](https://ksour.org/glossary/ghorfa)
- [Glaoua (actor-role)](https://ksour.org/glossary/glaoua)
- [Jma'a (actor-role)](https://ksour.org/glossary/jmaa)
- [Khettara (building-element)](https://ksour.org/glossary/khettara)
- [Maalem (actor-role)](https://ksour.org/glossary/maalem)
- [Medina (building-element)](https://ksour.org/glossary/medina)
- [Mellah (building-element)](https://ksour.org/glossary/mellah)
- [Mudbrick (material)](https://ksour.org/glossary/mudbrick)
- [Palmeraie (building-element)](https://ksour.org/glossary/palmeraie)
- [Pisé (technique)](https://ksour.org/glossary/pise)
- [Rammed earth (technique)](https://ksour.org/glossary/rammed-earth)
- [Riad (building-type)](https://ksour.org/glossary/riad)
- [Seguia (building-element)](https://ksour.org/glossary/seguia)
- [Tabia (technique)](https://ksour.org/glossary/tabia)
- [Tighremt (building-type)](https://ksour.org/glossary/tighremt)
- [Zawiya (building-element)](https://ksour.org/glossary/zawiya)


## Essays

- [The Drâa Valley Corpus — 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z](https://ksour.org/essays/draa-valley-corpus)