The built material architectural cultural heritage tested by the Al Haouz earthquake: Case of the Koutoubia Mosque in the city of Marrakech

Abstract

What is more frightening than an unexpected earthquake in the middle of the night for people and for buildings and especially heritage buildings whose response to the earthquake is unknown.The country of Morocco, and more precisely the region of Al Haouz, more precisely the city of Marrakech named capital of culture of the Islamic world for the year 2024, by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), experienced a serious earthquake of magnetitude M = 6.9 on September 8, 2023 at 22:11:2.2 UTC (23:11 Local), the most serious earthquake in the history of the country according to seismic stations.The Koutoubia Mosque built in the 12th century was one monument among others that suffered this tremor.In this article we will describe the location, the construction technique and the materials used in this monument and we will also go through in a non-exhaustive manner the damage caused by this earthquake on the Koutoubia Mosque whose architecture is part of Almohad art.