Matmata Troglodyte Houses

The troglodyte houses of Matmata in southern Tunisia are a rare case of dwellings without a built roof. Instead of raising walls and spanning them, Amazigh (Berber) builders dug a large pit into the ground and carved rooms into its sides, leaving the undisturbed earth above as the roof.

Form

Each house is centred on a large open pit that acts as a courtyard. Artificial caves dug into the pit's perimeter serve as rooms. Larger homes have several pits connected by trench-like passageways.

Strengths and weaknesses

The main weakness of the type is water. In 1969, intensive rains lasting 22 days flooded the pit houses and caused many to collapse. Aid was organised after a delegation went to Gabès, and a new above-ground settlement was built. Only a few families moved to the new surface houses; most rebuilt their underground homes.

Roofing significance

In roofing terms, the pit house does without timber, tiles or any waterproof covering: the earth left above each room is both structure and roof. The trade-off is drainage. Water that collects in the open pit or soaks into the ground above has no easy way out, which is why prolonged rain, as in 1969, is the type's greatest threat.

Film fame

The Hotel Sidi Idriss, built as a traditional troglodyte dwelling, was used in 1976 as Luke Skywalker's home on the planet Tatooine in Star Wars and appeared again in Attack of the Clones (2002), bringing international attention to the house type.

Related forms

Matmata belongs to a wider North African tradition of building into the ground and with earth. The island of Djerba also has troglodytic structures, including inland mosques that served as refuges.