Annual Report 2006
(Draft)
INTRODUCTION
Having established the identity of the hammam and its basic interior floor plan, the main objective of
the 2006 season was to define those structural features directly associated with the hammam that
extend beyond the three main baths (frigidarium, tepidarium, and calidarium) that were excavated
during the 2005 season. These annexes would logically be located on the north side of the hammam as
is suggested by the opening of the hypercaust along the north wall and along the south side of the
hammam as indicated by the two doors along the south wall that would open on to a reception room
and dressing rooms. The strategy, then, is to excavate a four meter wide trench along each of these
sides of the hammam.
Trench 400:
The objective for this excavation was to determine the architectural features outside of the hammam
along the south side. We outlined a trench 4 meters wide and fifteen meters along along the south wall
of the hammam.
Overall, we observed three levels of activity/occupation roughly equivalent to the three levels observed
inside the hammam itself, i.e.: 1) an upper level dating to the 18th and 19th centuries consisting
probably of very simple structures and fire pits of an agricultural population; 2) an intermediate level
associated with the potters who had established a large scale pottery industry inside the hammam; and
3) a lower level of well constructed walls and floors and water channels associated with the hammam
itself.
We will procede to describe the excavation in three vertical sections: 1); the westernmost section from
the west balk running nine meters eastward; 2) the central section running three and a half meters east
of the west section; and 3) the eastern section running the last two and a half meters.
The upper level:
West:
Very close to the surface, we started to expose a series of walls. # 402 is a tabia wall 80 cm thick that
begins at 235 cm east of the nw corner of the trench and runs along the outer wall of the hammam for
265 cm. The taby wall is faced with brick. The top coarse of this wall was established as the 00 level
for the excavation unit.
South of the taby wall is a row of stones (wall?) 180 cm long running parallel to the taby wall
beginning at 450 cm from the wast balk.
Surrounding the opening at the top of the main (taller) door of the hammam large stones (#404) were
piled as if to form a retaining barrier to prevent earth from falling through the top of the door into the
hammam.
Along the south balk, 235 cm from the corner, is a circular deposit # 408 of brick, stone and much ash
(a broken wall ?).
In the SW corner is a square deposit of brick and stone, later determined to be in a non structural
situation.
At a level of -113 cm was a hard packed dirt floor. A 19th century Alaouite coins was found associated
with this floor level establishing a the late date for this occupation level.
In the area immediately in front of the main door is a floor level at -180-185 cm represented by
deposits #428 and 432. # 433 was a crudely made stone wall associated with these floor levels that
abuts the fill that was deposited to block off the smaller door to right of the main entrance. Associated
with this level is a a square hard packed dirt structure the top of which starts at -112. It has a large
opening at the top, approximately 80 cm in diameter. It was filled with burned soil; thought to be
associated with pottery production.
Below that level of hard packed floors is the level of abandonment of the hammam qua hammam, i.e.,
of these annexes associated with the hammam. It is here where the tops of walls associated with this
lowest level begin to appear. Among the artifacts retrieved from this level are: 1 fragment of Querra de
Secca (14th century) in # 438; a large quantity of brocken bricks; stones in situ (one being ½ of a
millstone) in #440; a lamp with “pied haute (14th century) in #441; bricks, stones, and fragments of
brocken plaster in #442. #448 is a pifre pit with ash and animal bone.
At the lowest level, in the SW corner of the excavation, approximately 1 meter from the west edge of
the excavation, is a hydaulic complex that is 3 meters wide (W-E) and 3 ½ meters long (N-S). Within
this complex is a square basin made of brickand hard plaster walls 40 cm thick. The interior of the
basin is 1 meter by 80 cm square. Immedietely north of the basin is a very large water duct, covered by
large stones that in fact cover the north wall of the basin. The stone cover runs for about 3 meters W-E.
The next section, running for another 50 cm is uncovered allowing us to look into the duct in both
directions. As the duct continues eastward, it divides into to ducts of equal size. Further excation will
be required to understand the exact function of these ducts. This hydraulic section is set off by a brick
wall 40 cm thick that abuts the south wall of the hammam and runs south into a large square “structure”
1 ½ x 1 ½ meters square forming the SE corner of this section. Between the hammam and this square
structure, the brick paved floor is flush with the top of the water duct.
As we continue moving east in the sounding, we move to the area in front of the main entrance of the
hammam. Immediately to the west of the main entrance was a crudely made stone wall abutting the
wall of the hammam and extending two meters south to abut with a brick wall that runs W-E for 6 ½
meters. The stone wall #451 was obviously a later addition; it was photographed and removed.
Immedieately to the east of the main door is another wall, this one in brick, also abutting the south wall
of the hammam and the brick wall two meters away. The exact sequence of these walls has to be
examined more carefully before a final interpretation can be suggested. But it is clear that the smaller
door was abandoned, blocked, and replaced by the larger door, and that access to the larger door was
altered at least twice.
East of this brick wall is a well made plaster floor at an elevation 60 cm higher than the floor of the
hammam and the room immediately in front of the main entrance. The explanation for this is yet to be
determined. A section of this floor was left in situ as a witness. [check on floor with diagonal brick
pattern].
Center:
#407 is a large square structure that abuts the hammam beginning at nine meters from the west edge of
the excavation. It is 180 cm wide (N-S) and 350 cm long (E-W). Its walls (mud and stone) are 50 cm
thick. There is a brick and stone facing on the south side of this structure, #410.
Extending southward from the SW corner of 407 is a wall #411 60 cm thick and 153 cm long (N-S).
Exactly south of #407, at levels varying from -40 to -70 cm are at least three hard packed dirt floors (#s
417, 418, 419 each associated with its own fire pit 414, 416, 420. These are all contemporary to the
floor level described above, i.e. 19th century.
The intermediate level in this center portion of the excavation consists of what appears to be a much
more sophisticated level of activity, an industrial complex of some kind, most likely somehow
associated with the potters industry observed inside the hammam itself. We encountered this series of
features close to the end of the excavation season. We decided that we did not have time to examine
these features closely enough, so we did not proceed any further. But this is what we observe so far. A
brick wall 50 cm wide extends in a N-S direction from #407. #479/#486 is a stone/brick [check] wall
that forms the corner of a structure at the corner of #407. These walls begin at a level approximately 175 cm. Between these two walls are a series of pits or basins, the three closest to #407 were
numbered together as #476. The three basins closest to the S balk were numbered together as #477.
East:
In the far NE corner of the excavation is what actually looks like a campsite in situ. It consists of a fire
pit #426 surrounded by stones and two large branches; the cistern at the east end of the frigidarium
constituted one side of this fire pit.; photographed ensemble. There were several other fire pits amidst
scattered stones in the SE corner of the excavation.
Below this 19th century level of occupation are a series of walls; [need to get elevations on this next set
of walls.] In the SE corner of the excavation is what appears to be the corner of a large structure made
of stone and mortar #492. The “corner post” is 1 x 1 meter square and is located approximately 60 cm
from the east and south balk of the trench. The wall extending east from the corner post is 60 cm thick.
South of the corner post is a door step that extends into the south balk, i.e., not completely excavated.
West of the corner post is a row of bricks, #488 that extends westward and connects with the corner of
another brick structure, #479/#486 that seems to link (and thus associated with) the series of
pits/basins #476 described above.
Two additional stone/brick walls, 40 cm wide, appear in this east section of the excavation. #498
extends north from the corner post of #492 for about 2 meters. #499 extends eastward from #407 for
125 cm. These two walls may have connected perpendicular to each other, but they are not so
connected now.
Trench 500
This is the excavation along the north wall outside of the hammam. Loose dirt that was above the
section where cleaning had to be done in room 300 to accommodate support scaffolding. In this
“cleaning” operation, a plastered, vaulted annex became visible, what appears to be an annex of the
hammam, the “salle des marriés” that everyone had been talking about.
Similar to the south side of the hammam, this excavation was naturally divided into three sections: the
eastern most section was above the “sale des marries,” the center section is above the hypercaust, and
the western most section is above the small room/basin the interior of which was excavated last season.
On this side we left a 1 meter balk between each. The balk is added both for the purpose of
stratigraphic control and also to add support to the walls of the hammam.
Eastern Section.
What appeared at first to be a wall #502 turns out rather to be the top of the room/basin that opens to
the interior of the calidarium. This interior room was obviously excavated from the inside of the
hammam but was numbered #519. Near the top of this deposit was a crudely made stone wall (19th
century) corresponding to the other 19th century occupation within and around the hammam. This wall
was numbered #518.
Below #519 is a level #521 at -125 cm below the top of the vault, the bottom level of the fill of the
vault, a reddish level with small gravel and very small amount of ceramics. This associates the space
within the vault with potters on the inside of the hammam.
Center Section.
The upper most level already revealed significant traces of ash, then the top of a broken brick vault.
Fragments of the broken bricks are not visible at this point indicating that the fill within this vault is
posterior to the destruction rather than contemporary.
#509, a very deep destruction level; it descends to -335 centimeters. Coin was found in this deposit
that looks medieval but so far is unreadable. A skeleton was also found in perfect orientation toward
Mecca, i.e., burial position. The length of the body = 154 cm.
The level below #509 is #514, red in color and full of material. The fill below that is #515, the dividing
point between the two levels is -345 centimeters.
#517 = destruction level at the bottom of the center section of 500. It starts at -360 centimeters and
contains a large quantity of bricks.
#512 = wall in center section, made of stone in upper portion, then brick and mortar. The top of this
wall is at -285 cm.
#520 = east side of the brick vault in the center section. This was an enlargement of #509/#514.
#522 = below 520. Bricks at the bottom of the fireplace, surrounded by ashes. Took C 14 sample.
#523 = a second burial within the fireplace. This is obviously post hammam, but probably not too long
thereafter. The direction that the face was facing was not clear, but the head was pointing toward the
true qibla. The elevation of the tomb = -474 to – 494 centimeters. #524 = deposit under the tomb 523.
This deposit contains an abundance of ashes.
#525 = a red layer, very compact (probably the base of the heater) rich in clay with small traces of lime.
This starts at a level of -538 cm.
#526 = a level of ash (slightly greenish in color with slight septic odor).
Western Section.
This part of the excavation revealed the outer wall of the small room that opens to the interior of the
hammam in the SW corner of 500.
The fill on the exterior (north side ) of this wall was excavated in three layers (#508, #511, and #513)
ultimately reaching a level of more that 325 centimeters. The levels were essentially the same, a
“remblais” of mixed material containing
508 = western 1/3 of sounding under 505, north of wall 507. found here.
508, found several pieces of zillige and plaster. Also found pieces of roof tiles, bricks and bones, and
carved stucco.
Trench 600 (submitted by Patrice Cressier and translated by R. Messier)
This is a 3 x 4 meter trench in the north west corner of the property some thirty meters away from the
hammam. The purpose of this excavation was to investigate the appearance of two large stone walls
running parallel to each other running in a south-eastern/north-western within an eroded trench that was
apparently dug to get earth for the construction of the tabiya wall that encloses the field in which the
hammam is located.
The walls (#601 = eastern and #603 = western)are made of stone and mortar and bricks yet not covered
with plaster. Their particular position (exactly parallel one with the other) as well as roughly parallel to
the sâqiya Tasultânt Qabila raised the question of the function of this unit. The narrowness (55 cm) and
the regularity of the space between the two walls (#602) evoked, indeed, the notion that this was
indeed a water channel; however, in the event of confirmation of this possibility, it would have been
necessary to determine the role of this one compared to the very close bath. In order to raise this
functional ambiguity, it had been decided, on the one hand, to excavate the levels laterally to reveal at
least the top of the two walls and to define their respective north-eastern faces (#601) and south-west
(#603), until reaching the bottom of each wall, thus specifying if its morphology were compatible with
the suspected hydraulic role. The sounding was expanded 2 meters towards the North-West (to 3 x 6
meters), in order to be able to make, a cut perpendicular to the studied structures. Wall #603 continues
in a northerly direction under a bush of prickly figs, it is only 50 centimeters high and seems to rest
directly on greyish clay; on the other hand, wall #601 does not appear to continue beyond the sounding
itself.
The top layer of #602 was excavated to a level of 20 centimeters deep, a homogeneous layer of very
compact reddish clay without the sand content, completely sterile and clearly different from #608b.
#602 was ultimately excavated to a depth of 45 centimeters without reaching a definitive bottom.
There were a few large stones, but no archaeological material. The continuation of the scouring inner
faces of the two walls showed that: in south-west, the reddish sandy sediment (#608b) included level
of bulky stones whose upper surface was level with the top of #603.
At the north-east corner of the sounding, grey earth covers a structure #609 (a low wall?) built out of
bricks and lime mortar about thirty centimeters (25 cm broad bricks); the orientation of #609 is
perpendicular to 601, but the two walls are not visibly connected.
South-west of # 603, a layer of gray earth # 608a covered a thick layer (#608b) of reddish mixed clay
and sand containing no archaeological material. We interpreted this to be the result of the periodic
clearing out of the nearby sâqiya. #608b is identical to the base upon which the wall enclosing the field
is built.
The only area (#606) within the sounding that contained artifacts (an abundance of ceramics, bricks and
tiles) is north-east of #601, a thick layer of gray earth.
The careful cleaning of the inner surfaces of #602 showed that, between the gray earth #606 and the top
of wall #601 was a reddish scrap of sediment; I cannot ensure if it is of the sandy sediment (608b) or
the argillaceous filling (602). In the first case, that would still leave open the interpretation of # 602,
but, in the second case, that would prevent and interpretation of the reddish clay of #602 as a massive
level in which would have been set up walls #601 and #603.
The original question raised in this sounding has not been conclusively resolved. There are basically
two possibilities:
Hypothesis #1: # 602 is well a channel. Arguments in favour: the relative position of #601 and #603;
the fact (provided that this is finally confirmed by a later excavation) that #601 [ne présente pas de
parement nord-est et 603 pas de parement sud-ouest]. Arguments against hypothesis #1: the inner
surfaces of #601 and #603 are not covered with plaster. The method of construction is different from
all the other hydraulic structures located in the area which are built out of massive concrete. The
bottom of the channel has still not been reached even though the excavation is deeper than the bottom
of the walls.
Hypothesis # 2: # 602 would be a space between a building which would have extended to the east and
of which #601 would be the south-western wall, and a wall #603 which would have enclosed a building
or simply a space between it and the sâqiya. It is entirely possible that water did indeed flow in this
space #602 between the two structures, explaining the sediment, without this serving a specific
hydralulic function. could besides have run out surface water between the buildings, without it acting
for that of a “hydraulic structure”. Arguments in favour: a wall #609 cots across the space. #601 and
603 do not resemble other hydraulic constructions in the vicinity. Rather they resemble remains of
other medieval buildings located on the area which have been interpreted and habitastions, religious
monuments or elements of fortification (the facing of the base of the wall for example). Contrary
arguments (only the continuation of the excavation would make it possible to ensure them): the
discovery of a definitive bottom of #602 could be one for it, according to the nature of its installation.
At the suggestion of Patrice Cressier, we lean toward the second assumption.
Trench 200:
We decided to do a small sounding within 200 in order to find a terminus post quem for the
construction of the bath. #201’ = 5 cm thick which reveals a second floor level. Digging is very
difficult, similar to the “basin” in the E end of 300. #202’ = a second floor of bricks and lime plaster.
This type of construction is seen only in limited places. In other places, there is only lime plaster, very
hard with traces of ash. #203’ = 20 cm of hard fill under the second floor level. Why this remblais?
This must be the debris from a substantial reconstruction. They would not have brought in this kind of
remblais as fill. It had to be already there. There are pieces of thick mortar in this fill. #204’ =
Another occupation floor at - 33 cm from the upper floor. Extremely rich in lime, very hard, medium
gravel, approximately 5 cm thick. #205’ = a level of fill approximately 15 cm thick. Almost no
material is collected. #206’ = a floor very similar to the floor at the base of the basin in 300, most
probably the same occupation. It consists of very hard mortar, very rich in lime, medium gravel, some
ash.
Observations re. interior phases, discussion after lunch:
After much discussion, it was suggested that the original doors were made completely of stone. At a
certain point, the doors were repaired/redesigned using brick. The intermixing of stone and brick in
this construction is very irregular and could not be by design. The mortar in the brickwork is different
than that of the stonework. Some of the bricks are over fired. This applies to all of the doorways.
The first phase is not totally clear.
The second phase consists of construction of buttresses in all of the rooms. Center columns at each
end of frigidarium appear to be part of this remodeling.
A third phase consists of filling the spaces between the arches at both ends of the frigidarium and the
construction of basins/cisterns. The cistern at the east end of the frigidarium (center column is made of
brick) is higher than the one at the other end. It contains drains allowing to draw water into the
frigidarium. There is a d rain in SE corner goes through wall to exterior: possibly toilets south of the
hammam?
Question: if this is a cistern, where does the water come in?
A fourth phase consists of an outer brick wall that abuts against the plaster of the inner brick wall (see
photo).
In the basin at west end of frigidarium, the arches seem to start at an unusually low level suggesting a
lower floor level. This seems to be consistent with the apparent floor at the bottom of the stone
covered deposit at the east end of the room which is 50 centimeters lower than the main floor, and the
lower height of the smaller door as compared to the larger door. The center column in this cistern is
square. Phase 2 here consists of filling the spaces within the arches and the construction of the cistern.
The pipe in the upper right hand corner is above the covered vault of the cistern leading to the same
question as at the other end--how to fill the cisterns. Phase 3 consists of the building of a brick outer
wall two thirds of the way across. Note: there are several layers of floor within the cistern. The
distance between the outer floor and the base of the cistern is only 16 cm. There is a drain at the base
of the cistern that drains out at just above floor level into the room. The drain at the south end of the
cistern was closed during the last phase of the cistern. The corbelled brickwork above the plaster vault,
not very elegantly done could be to support some sort of a facade? If this is contemporary to the
building of the vaulted cover of the cistern, and the mortar suggests that it is, then the drain could fill
the cistern trough an opening in the top of the vault. An element of some kind (use unknown) was
added in the SW corner of the cistern. There is another canal, 18 centimeters in diameter in the NE
corner of the cistern.
The last phase here consists of a basin within the room which measures 125 centimeters EW by 257
centimeters NS; it appears to go all the way to wall, but this is hard to tell because of the presence of
the potters’ stations. The walls of this basin are relatively thick leaving rather limited space within the
basin.
An overall observation is that the floor level of the within the bath in general is lower than the floors of
the annexes excavated on the south side of the hammam.
CONCLUSION
The excavation of trenches 400 and 500 certainly confirmed that the primary annexes, i.e., the
hypercaust and andjacent rooms of the hammam were located on the north and south sides of the
hammam respectively. It is also becoming abundantly and increasingly clear that this archaeological
site represents several phases of existence, i.e., several phases of remodeling of the hammam itself as
well as several different uses of the area: first as a hammam from its first construction (we think during
the Almoravid period, but possibly even earlier) through the fourteenth century. At some point after the
fourteenth century, the hammam was taken over by a potterey industry. Again, the evidence suggests
several generations of this use. Yet a third use of the site was as a cemetery; this too, having at least
two phases, one immediately following the abandonment of the hammam, and perhaps a second after
the abandonment of the hammam by the potters’ industry.