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Photo Pages: Msoura - Stone Circle in Morocco
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Submitted by kengelma on Wednesday, 10 January 2007 Page Views: 4468
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 Site Name: Msoura Alternate Name: Mzoura Circle
Country: Morocco Type: Stone Circle
Nearest Town: Arsilah Nearest Village: Sidi-el-Yamani
Latitude: 35.353100N Longitude: 5.9533W
Condition:| 5 | Perfect | | 4 | Almost Perfect | | 3 | Reasonable but with some damage | | 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site | | 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks | | 0 | No data. | | -1 | Completely destroyed |
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Ambience:| 5 | Superb | | 4 | Good | | 3 | Ordinary | | 2 | Not Good | | 1 | Awful | | 0 | No data. |
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Access:| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access | | 4 | Short walk on a footpath | | 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk | | 2 | A long walk | | 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find | | 0 | No data. |
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Accuracy:| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates | | 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map | | 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map | | 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village | | 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town | | 0 | no data |
no data
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   Msoura submitted by kengelma
Stone Circle in Marocco
As far as I know, Msoura is the only stone circle in Morocco. We visited in December 2006. Roads there are not well marked. We had to pick up a local guide to get there--and no matter what they tell you, they don't speak English!
Although we drove through tracks in fields to get there (it was impossible to get through Sidi el Yamani during market hours), I think you could get there on decent gravel and dirt roads if you can find the right road outside of Arsilah. (It's about 25km S of Arsilah.) I'll upload GPS settings to make this possible (as soon as I figure out how to do that).
It's difficult to find much documentation on the site. Generally, it is composed of a circle of 167 megaliths surrounding a tumulus of almost 55m of diameter, the highest of these monoliths measures more than 5 m. It is called El Uted (The Pointer.)
According to legend, this monument is the tomb of the giant of Anthe (or Antĉus), son of Earth and Neptune. He was a mythical giant, a terrĉ filius or son of the earth, who was strong only when his foot was on the earth; lifted in air he became weak as water. Hercules discovered this weakness and crushed him.
John Palmer of the Sacred Sites International Foundation (http://www.sacred-sites.org/earth.html) has the most extensive write-up that I've found. He also has an excellent etching from 1980.
Note: Important note: Exact location unknown, position given for nearest village.
 Msoura submitted by kengelma
Here's a better view of cactus and a stone circle!
 Msoura submitted by kengelma
Msoura, Marocco, became known to the West only after 1830. The Berber people of the Maghreb ascribed the enigmatic megaliths as having been the work of the Djouhalas, pre-Islamic pagan giants, and the Ghouls, ogres and magicians. The ring is formed by a large, despoiled tumulus, and is kerbed by a contiguous, elliptical ring of upright stones.
The southeast sector features an abutting, interna
 Msoura submitted by kengelma
Here is one of the fallen stones next to the circle at Msoura in Morocco. The site is located about 25 km south of Asilah.
 Msoura submitted by kengelma
A farm next to the Msoura mound is using some of the stones as part of a chicken coop. The site is not well sign-posted and it can be difficult to approach. I'm not certain anyone in Morocco appreciates why a few crazy tourists (very few, I suspect) want to find their way out to the standing stones, but they seem to tolerate us and find ways to overcharge for their guiding services.
 Msoura submitted by kengelma
To the north of the Msoura mound mound are a number of large, fallen outliers, which are surrounded by straight contiguous settings of small stones.
This information is posted with permission of the Sacred Sites International Foundation. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of natural and built sacred places, their surrounding environments and the people who honor thes
 Msoura submitted by kengelma
The Ring of Msoura in Marocco is formed by a large, despoiled tumulus and is kerbed by a contiguous, elliptical ring of upright stones. The southeast sector features an abutting, internal parapet walk made of uprights covered over by flat lintel slabs. During John Palmer's visit in 1978, he counted 175 menhirs - most of which have been broken at about half their height - surrounding the tumulus, o
 Msoura submitted by kengelma
This etching by John E. Palmer is one of a series of prints about Msoura, or Mzora, meaning Holy Place, which is situated near the hamlet of Sidi-el-Yamani, in the region of Tetuan, Morocco, North Africa. It is posted with permission of the Sacred Sites International Foundation.
A limited edition copy of the etching is available for sale at www.sacred-sites.org You can also view a larger version
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| "Msoura" | Login/Create an Account | 3 comments |
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Re: Msoura (Score: 1)
by ShropshireTraveller on Wednesday, 10 January 2007
(User Info | Send a Message) | Kaarin, thanks so much for these. Having read your account of the visit and getting there, it does look an amazing site, even having been treated the way it has. Thanks also to Sacred Sites International Foundation http://www.sacred-sites.org/earth.html for their image, and information.
Were there any other ancient morrocan sites you got to?
Cheers, Tim. | [ Reply to This ]
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Re: Msoura (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Monday, 16 February 2009 | Hi - I went to the circle yesterday and it is a bit of a mission... well worth it though. For interest's sake the guide we picked up in El Yemeni told us that excavations were abandoned after some of the diggers went mad - the locals call the place "Maabd Shaitan", the Devil's temple. Some relics were found there and are now in the museum in Tetouan.
Francois | [ Reply to This ]
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