Khettaras of Morocco
Khettaras de Marruecos
- Date
- c. century XI-XII · confidence low
- Place
- Marrakesh, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco
- Credited to
- Almoravids and oasis communities
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Gently sloping underground galleries with vertical shafts that tap aquifer water and carry it by gravity to orchards and palm groves in southern Morocco, without pumping and without evaporation. Tradition links them with the founding of Marrakesh.
Their origin is disputed: oral tradition attributes them to the Almoravid period (founding of Marrakesh in 1070), but they may be earlier (Roman or early Islamic) or have arrived via Persia and Egypt. Date and place are conventional; khettaras exist in Tafilalet, Draa and the Haouz.
What it led to
- oasis agriculture in Tafilalet, Draa and the Haouz
- communal water management with shift rules
- the city of Marrakesh and its gardens (Agdal, Menara)