Author(s)

S. Messikh

Abstract

The fortress of Bouira Bordj Hamza is one of the last Ottoman fortresses in the region of Kabylie in Algeria, which remain more or less preserved and not processed. It was built during the reign of the pasha Hassan Corso who ordered between 1540 and 1541 the implant of several fortifications at strategic points in the territory of Constantine to control and monitor the Eastern territory. The fort is the only one authentic monument in this site and later on the city of Bouira, town built for the French settlers, close to it. It was the scene of clashes between the Ottoman and the Kabyle tribes rebelled against the regency and between the Algerians and the French troops until 1871. The fort suffered from much destruction between the 19th and 20th Century while some restorations occurred at the same period of time. After the Algerian independence it was abandoned and looted from its materials, then squatted and turned into a slum which caused its destruction and only its imposing outer wall is still standing. Today, the restorations of the walls are in progress, the project consists of the repair a n d the strengthening of the masonry structures of the enclosure and also on the rediscovery of archaeological remains inside the fort under the over time accumulated masses of soil such as the gunpowder depot buried underground for over than 50 years, the intact Ottoman underground cistern and its system of gutters. Keywords: fortification, Ottoman, rampart, history, restoration, monument, Algeria, Kabylie. 1 Introduction The fortress at Bouira, known as Bordj Hamza, is located in the Kabylie region, a mountainous area formerly occupied by proud and independent Kabyle tribes

Keywords

fortification, Ottoman, rampart, history, restoration, monument, Algeria, Kabylie.