Dabbus

The wooden rammer used to compact the pisé mix in the formwork. The dabbus is typically a heavy hardwood block — locally argan, juniper, or carob — fitted to a long handle and swung with both arms by a rammer (dabbāz) standing inside or astride the formwork. Compaction continues until the rammer rings — the so-called "singing" of the wall — at which point the course is judged finished and the team moves along the formwork. Mechanical pneumatic rammers are now sometimes substituted in restoration work; the resulting density profile differs measurably from hand-rammed pisé.