Stratigraphic analysis of earthen architecture: The mosque of M’Hamid El Ghizlane (original) (raw)

Stratigraphic analysis of earthen architecture: The mosque of M’Hamid El Ghizlane

This paper presents the results of some of the studies developed by the interdisciplinary team of Terrachidia, focused on the earthen architecture of the last oasis in the Drâa Valley (Morocco), M’Hamid, one of the main gates to the Sahara desert. The most monumental building in the M’Hamid Oasis is the ancient mosque of M’Hamid El Ghizlane. This building is the result of an extensive process of alterations and extensions which needed to be studied and understood before proposing any solution for its future conservation. This study was developed in 2013, during January and May documentation campaigns, when the evolution and main historical phases of the mosque could be completely figured out.