The fortress was built on a plateau with an altitude of 1,240 m (4,070 ft), some sixty years after the construction of a fortress in Marrakesh, whose remains are on the perimeter of the first Koutoubia Mosque; their discovery in 1948 led Charles Allain and Jacques Meunié to study Tasghîmût.[4] A defensive wall 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long was completed by 1125.[5] Most defensive buildings are oriented toward the west, the most vulnerable side. These include a large bastion named Bab Ghâdir, whose remains are still there, and a tower on the southernmost side. The wall was around 2 m (6 ft 7 in) thick, and featured a total of 15 rectangular bastions, overhanging the wall.