Abstract:Medieval fortified granaries known as "agadirs" are very common in southern Morocco, being catalogued as world cultural heritage by UN. These Berber buildings (made of stones and tree trunks) usually located on rocky promontories, constitute historical testimonials related to the origin of Morocco and, as tourist attractions, have a positive impact on the local economy. The sustainability of these ancient monuments requires geological-risk evaluations of the massif stability under the agadir with the proposal of stabilization measures, and an architectonic analysis with appropriate maintenance of the structural elements. An interdisciplinary study including climate, seismicity, hydrology, geology, geomorphology, geotechnical surveys of the massif and diagnosis of the degradation of structural elements have been performed on the Amtoudi Agadir, selected as a case study. The main findings from this study are that the prevalent rocks used for construction (coming from the underlying substratum) are good-quality arkosic sandstones; the SW cliffs under the agadir are unstable under water saturation; some masonry walls are too thin and lack interlocking stones and mortar; and failures in the beams (due to flexure, fracture, and exhaustion in the resistance due to insect attacks or plant roots) are common. The basic risk assessment of ancient buildings of cultural heritage and their geologic substratum are needed especially in undeveloped areas with limited capacity to implement durable conservation policies. Therefore, Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporationrecommendations have been provided to ensure the stability and maintenance of this important archaeological site Abstract Medieval fortified granaries known as "agadirs" are very common in southern Morocco, being catalogued as world cultural heritage by UN. These Berber buildings (made of stones and tree trunks) usually located on rocky promontories, constitute historical testimonials related to the origin of Morocco and, as tourist attractions, have a positive impact on the local economy. The sustainability of these ancient monuments requires geological-risk evaluations of the massif stability under the agadir with the proposal of stabilization measures, and an architectonic analysis with appropriate maintenance of the structural elements. An interdisciplinary study including climate, seismicity, hydrology, geology, geomorphology, geotechnical surveys of the massif and diagnosis of the degradation of structural elements have been performed on the Amtoudi Agadir, selected as a case study. The main findings from this study are that the prevalent rocks used for construction (coming from the underlying substratum) are good-quality arkosic sandstones; the SW cliffs under the agadir are unstable under water saturation; some masonry walls are too thin and lack interlocking stones and mortar; and failures in the beams (due to flexure, fracture, and exhaustion in the resistance due to insect attacks or plant roots) are c...
An interdisciplinary archaeometric study concerning the Amtoudi Agadir, declared World Cultural Heritage (northern border of the Sahara Desert, southern Morocco), was performed consisting in lithostratigraphic reconstruction of the bedrock, diagnosis of constitutive materials (stones, mortars, and wooden elements), and analyses of constructive techniques and architectonic elements (load-bearing and supported structural elements). The medieval agadir (fortified granary) was built directly on a rocky piton with rocks of the substratum with traditional materials and ancestral techniques. The stones have been identified and classified into four petrofacies. Degradation such as biological attacks, chromatic alteration, erosion, exfoliation, and fissuration on the stones have been characterized. Recommendations for conservation and maintenance of the rocks have been proposed in compatibility with the environment. Load-bearing (masonry walls) and supported structural elements (ceiling structures) have also been studied in order to define their stability. Worst cases of 1-and 2-height walls, together with worst cases of the wooden or stone ceiling structures have been analyzed. Materials, techniques, and dimensions have been characterized for possible failures to shearing, bending, and flexural buckling as guide for maintenance of the agadir. The main problems of the walls derive from excessively thin construction with a lack of interlocking of the rocks and a diminished proportion or quality of mortar joining the rocks due to washing. It has been recommended to avoid thicknesses lower than 0.4 m for 2-height walls and lower than 0.3 m for 1-height walls. A nominal load has been estimated in the worst case (with wooden elements) for the ceiling structures of about 7.0 KN/m 2 . The calculations have indicated that a 25% increase over the nominal load would imply a risk of failure, the use of stone elements being preferable over wooden ones. With these propositions for the Amtoudi Agadir, new management and prospects for cultural tourism are feasible. INTRODUCTION AND AIMSOn the southern border of the Anti-Atlas Chain (northern Sahara Desert domain), the legacy of the millenary culture of the southern Moroccan population has survived until today in the form of agadirs (NAJI, 2003). Agadirs are typical fortified citadel and granary, testimony of the birth of the nation of Morocco, dating from the tenth century in some cases, positioned on rocky promontories to protect crops and livestock of the community from sudden attacks. They are located in inhabited areas with permanent water and food supply such as oases (ALCALÁ et alii, 2015). In the study case an oasis is also present related to the Wadi des Argans where the Amtoudi village is seated. They were built with different architectural techniques and located directly on the bedrock, which supplied geomaterials for building, thus making them indistinguishable from the landscape when viewed from afar. Due to their defensive character, agadirs were positioned in ina...
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