On the connotation of the word “ksour” in the Mediterranean.

The Arab word “Ksour” is widely diffused throughout the “Limes arabicus” and the “Limes africanus” amid the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. “Ksour” indicate different kinds of earth constructions. Leading academics have studied the etymology of the word “ksar” and its variants: qasr, gsar, qsar and qsayr. “Ksour”, for some, is perhaps borrowed from the Latin word “castrum” or from the Greek/Byzantine word “κάδτρου”; for others, it derived from the verb “qasara” (singular) or “qusur” (plural). This research tries to verify, through objective data, the true meaning of the word “ksar” and their common elements. The employed methodology includes an analysis of some cross-cutting issues related to land management and landscape: 1. Location of Limes during the Roman occupation: Finding” ksour” inside the “Limes Africanus” and the “qsar” within the “Limes Arabicus”. 2. Identifying the natural characteristics of the territory: the topographic and hydrographic conditions. 3. Analysis of the typological system and construction techniques. 4. The cultivation of wheat in the Mediterranean This study aims to produce a reference system where previous findings and future studies can be combined, in order to pass on tangible and intangible evidence within these areas, establishing a comprehensive circle where knowledge could lead to architectural recovery and the revitalization of territories that we were once thought to be abandoned.