This serial property is a testimony to a settlement pattern that developed on the island of Djerba around the 9th century CE amidst the semi-dry and water-scarce environment. Low‑density was its key characteristic: it involved the division of the island into neighbourhoods, clustered together, that were economically self-sustainable, connected to each other and to the religious and trading places of the island, through a complex network of roads. Resulting from a mixture of environmental, socio-cultural and economic factors, the distinctive human settlement of Djerba demonstrates the way local people adapted their lifestyle to the conditions of their water-scarce natural environment.

Brief synthesis The serial property of Djerba: Testimony to a settlement pattern in an island territory is an eminent example of spatial organization based on a dispersed settlement pattern and associated socio-economic system that evolved between the 9th and 18th centuries and reflected a symbiotic relationship between communities of diverse cultures and faiths who coexisted peacefully in Djerba and adapted their way of life to the conditions and restrictions of their water-scarce natural environment. This distinctive human settlement pattern, which was neither totally urban nor totally rural, developed in response to a combination of environmental, socio-cultural and economic factors, and spread throughout the entire island. At the heart of this system was the combination of dispersed, low-density rural-type settlements (neighbourhoods organized according to the menzel-houma system, typical of the Ibadis, combining living quarters with family economic activities) and denser urban-type clusters (residential neighbourhoods inhabited by Jewish communities and the market district dedicated to commercial exchanges), which together formed a unique township on the island. The houma (neighbourhood), made up of a number of menzel (family estates), was an economically self-sustaining entity that hosted agricultural and craft activities, representing on a small scale the social and economic organization of the island as a whole. The houma were linked to each other, as well as to the island's places of worship, the main trading centre and residential districts, by a complex network of roads. Djerba's defensive orientation profoundly influenced its architecture. The massive houch (a dwelling unit) within the menzel was devoid of openings to the outside and flanked by angular towers. The island's many mosques were also designed with the ongoing insecurity in mind. With their short, squat shapes, arrow slits in the façades and crenelated terraces, they were often places of…