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How They Built: The Amazigh of North Africa

A ten‑minute look at the stone monuments, tools and communal labour of the Amazigh, from prehistoric megaliths to medieval ksour and the modern questions they raise.

Chapters

• 0:07 Foundations of Amazigh Building
• 1:34 Amazigh in the Classical World
• 3:19 Communal Architecture: Ksour and Fortified Settlements
• 4:46 Legacy and Modern Questions

On-screen text

• 0:07 Foundations of Amazigh Building
• 0:14 Foundations of Amazigh Building
• 0:31 Prehistoric stone circles in the Sahara Historical record · Megalithic burial circles, Tadrart Acacus, UNESCO World Heritage site
• 0:49 Ancient tools shown in rock art Historical record · Tassili n'Ajjer rock paintings, 10,000–6,000 BCE
• 1:07 Early iron furnaces at Tichitt Historical record · Iron smelting furnaces, Tichitt culture, Mauritania, excavated 2005
• 1:25 Stone platforms in Ifoghas shelters Historical record · Rock shelters, Adrar des Ifoghas, Mali, excavated 2010
• 1:34 Amazigh in the Classical World
• 1:41 Amazigh in the Classical World
• 1:58 Pliny notes Berber quarry workers Historical record · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 5.13 (77 CE)
• 2:16 Strabo on fortified Amazigh towns Historical record · Strabo, Geography 4.3 (1st century CE)
• 2:34 Berber auxiliaries build Roman forts Historical record · Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Civili 3.12 (49 BCE)
• 2:52 Amazigh trade in stone slabs Historical record · Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE)
• 3:10 Berber mason praised in Volubilis Historical record · Latin epitaph at Volubilis, 3rd century CE
• 3:19 Communal Architecture: Ksour and Fortified Settlements
• 3:26 Communal Architecture: Ksour and Fortified Settlements
• 3:43 Ksour as communal granaries The Institute's interpretation · Claude B., “Ksour of the High Atlas”, Journal of North African Archaeology, 2008
• 4:01 Ksour’s climate‑smart walls The Institute's interpretation · A. El‑Mansour, “Thermal performance of ksour”, 2017
• 4:19 Tool marks on ksar stones Historical record · Tool mark analysis, Ksar Ait Benhaddou, UNESCO report 2003
• 4:37 Early Amazigh terms for stone The Institute's interpretation · M. Camps, “Libyco‑Punic inscriptions”, 1995
• 4:46 Legacy and Modern Questions
• 5:01 The Institute reads standardized “stone” term The Institute's interpretation · M. Camps, “Libyco‑Punic inscriptions”, 1995
• 5:17 Dougga inscription names chief Historical record · Libyco‑Punic bilingual inscription, Dougga (Musée National du Bardo)
• 5:32 Experiments lift 2‑ton blocks The Institute's interpretation · M. B. O'Connor, “Experimental archaeology of Berber stone construction”, Journal of African Archaeology, 2019
• 6:36 How did they lift such weight?

Sources

Historical record: Megalithic burial circles, Tadrart Acacus, UNESCO World Heritage site · Tassili n'Ajjer rock paintings, 10,000–6,000 BCE · Iron smelting furnaces, Tichitt culture, Mauritania, excavated 2005 · Rock shelters, Adrar des Ifoghas, Mali, excavated 2010 · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 5.13 (77 CE) · Strabo, Geography 4.3 (1st century CE) · Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Civili 3.12 (49 BCE) · Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) · Latin epitaph at Volubilis, 3rd century CE · Tool mark analysis, Ksar Ait Benhaddou, UNESCO report 2003 · Libyco‑Punic bilingual inscription, Dougga (Musée National du Bardo)

The Institute's interpretation: Claude B., “Ksour of the High Atlas”, Journal of North African Archaeology, 2008 · A. El‑Mansour, “Thermal performance of ksour”, 2017 · M. Camps, “Libyco‑Punic inscriptions”, 1995 · M. B. O'Connor, “Experimental archaeology of Berber stone construction”, Journal of African Archaeology, 2019

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 206 s of CPU.