Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa
Midrarid Kharijite foundation 757 CE to Alaouite 1818 destruction·Miknasa Kharijite → Almoravid → Marinid caravan city (Ibn Battuta)·🇲🇦 Drâa-Tafilalet, Rissani plain, Sijilmasa on Ziz River near Erfoud, Morocco
About
About Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa
Sijilmasa excavated by Lightfoot & Miller 1988–, Midrarid Kharijite 757, 14th c. Leo Africanus description. Recorded context — Period: Midrarid Kharijite foundation 757 CE to Alaouite 1818 destruction; Culture: Miknasa Kharijite → Almoravid → Marinid caravan city (Ibn Battuta); Field status: excavated; Materials: mudbrick, tadelakt plaster, gold dust; Condition: ruins — lower walls 1–3 m.
Why it mattersKey Miknasa Kharijite → Almoravid → Marinid caravan city (Ibn Battuta) ancient-city with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Trade network extent
- 02Chronology and phasing
Theories
- 01Defensive stronghold
- 02Elite residence
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 757 CE; Great Mill 10th c.; walls 1055 Almoravid
- Period
- Midrarid Kharijite foundation 757 CE to Alaouite 1818 destruction
- Culture
- Miknasa Kharijite → Almoravid → Marinid caravan city (Ibn Battuta)
- Purpose
- Trans-Sahara gold city (100 ha, Ibn Battuta 1352) with 14 ha mint quarter and Midrarid walls — gold caravan terminus 400 yrs
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1916
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 1500 BCE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa
757 CE; Great Mill 10th c.; walls 1055 Almoravid
Initial construction / first occupation at Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa
1970 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa
On the ground
Structures & features
31.2830° N · 4.2670° W · 760 m · 4 mapped features
- Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa — Principal Structurestructurestructure at Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa — primary structure31.2817° N · 4.2674° W
- Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa — Northern Complexcomplexcomplex at Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa — primary structure31.2829° N · 4.2687° W
- Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa — Southern Rock Artrock artrock art at Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa — subsidiary complex31.2836° N · 4.2674° W
- Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa — Eastern Structurestructurestructure at Sijilmasa — Trans-Saharan Gold Entrepôt Draa — hydraulic feature31.2823° N · 4.2667° W