Sijilmasa Excavation in Morocco Sheds Light on Caravan City

By Neil D. MacKenzie

In the last 25 years Islamic archaeology has assumed a major role in the study of the medieval history of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. Especially important are the trading cities and smaller entrepots, whether seaports, single caravanserais, or major inland towns astride the trade routes.

During June and July of 1988, a joint Moroccan and American team conducted an archaeological survey of Sijilmasa, Morocco, a major caravan city on the medieval trans-Saharan trade route. Located in the province of al-Rashidiyah, Sijihnasa lies just to the west of Rissani, and some 300 kilometers southeast of Fez.

The former capital of the district of Tafilalt, Sijilmasa was founded in the middle of the eighth century by the Bani Wasul, a tribe of Zenata Berbers. Between that time and 1393, the city passed through several administrations, including the Bani Midrar, Fatimids, Bani Khazrun, Almoravids, Almohads and Marinids.

Sijilmasa's situation as an oasis center on the east bank of Wadi Ziz—virtually the northern edge of the Sahara—rendered it the main point of entry for West African exports to Morocco. These included slaves, ivory, and, especially, gold, in exchange for manufactured products such as textiles and ceramics, transported to the south and west .

Medieval geographers state that Sijilmasa was the site of a mint for gold coinage under several successive regimes. In the 11th century, Sijilmasa was described as a large city enclosed by walls constructed of dry mud on stone foundations, penetrated by 12 gates.

It contained a Friday mosque, baths, and numerous gardens which were irrigated with water collected by an elaborate system of cisterns. As well as a caravan entrepot, Sijilmasa was the center of a fertile agricultural area, producing dates, grapes, cereals, cotton and various spices. Political turmoil at the end of the 14th century, however, reduced the city to insignificance, and Sijilmasa became only one of several oasis villages of the Tafitalt.

The remains of Sijilmasa comprise a central area about 1.6 square kilometers. Although the terrain is primarily mounds of decayed mud walls mixed with windblown sand, certain major features are distinguishable. These include city walls, a citadel, numerous cisterns, a probable mosque, and an industrial complex of uncertain usage.

The Moroccan-American team, under the sponsorship of the Moroccan Institut National des Sciences de L'Archeologie et du Patrimonie and Middle Tennessee State University, was under the direction of Ronald A. Messier and Neil D. MacKenzie, and included 12 students from the sponsoring institutions. The central area of the site was mapped, a preliminary typology of surface ceramics prepared and five soundings were excavated to determine the relative stratigraphy of the site.

In 1974, Moroccan excavations revealed a series of mud walled buildings—probably domestic—in the central area near the "mosque." Based largely on ceramic evidence, these buildings are thought to date from the 18th century. The 1988 expedition uncovered an earlier level of occupation, including a stone pavement, a drainage nel and several pits, possibly cesspool of these pits contained a cache of ceianucs and glass, including molded glassware with floral motifs and an inscribed vase probably dating from the 11th century. Other soundings, although less definitive, revealed at least three distinctive pottery groups, the dating of which is still uncertain.

Support Sought For a Major Excavation

The directors are currently seeking support for a major excavation at Sijilmasa, which is certain to produce a wealth of information on trans-Saharan trade, local industry, agricultural production and water resources. It will also continue a successful training venture for both Moroccan and American students on a site of paramount importance to Islamic archaeology. Inquiries should be directed to Prof. Ronald A. Messier, Honors Program, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37133.

Dr. Neil D. MacKenzie, an Islamic archeologist presently based in Washington, DC, is associate director of the Sijilmasa project. He is the author of a forthcoming book on the Ayyubid topography of Cairo. He spent 1977 and 1978 as a post-doctoral Fulbright scholar working on the topography of Ayyubid Aleppo.