Matfias rural water reservoirs

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)

Some historical references indicate that clay cisterns were used to store rainwater in the city of Ceuta in Northern Morocco

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

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)

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

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

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)