Timeline

  • 44 AD

    A number of reservoirs and wells are located in several roman archaeological sites in Morocco, probably built to store rainwater (Sites of Tamuda, Tanger, Banassa and volubilis & Tamoussida)

  • 13th century

    Some historical references indicate that clay cisterns were used to store rainwater in the city of Ceuta in Northern Morocco

  • 16th century

    When The Portuguese occupied some Moroccan Atlantic coastal cities, they built a big water reservoir, similar to the technique used for Matfia- in the city of El Jadida

  • 1767

    The residents of Essaouira (city on the Atlantic Coast) used the system of Matfias to store rainwater during the reign of the King sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah (from the Alawite Dynasty)

  • 1820

    Inscriptions on some Matfias in Abda Region indicate the year of construction (1820)

  • 1926

    After a period of severe draught many collective Matfias were built in the region of Abda

  • 21st Century

    Matfas are still used as a traditional technique to store rainwater with the addition of some modern tools to access groundwater (e.g. diesel engines)

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