Stone Circles - Wassu, The Gambia
One seldom thinks of megalithic constructions in conjunction with Africa - rather Stonehenge and the dolmens and menhirs of Europe are called to mind, probably because there is relatively little evidence of the Neolithic in Africa. It's also true that we generally are eurocentric when it comes to looking at recent pre-history.
There are some megaliths in West Africa, however, in the Gambia, near Wassu. Here are some photos of these unusual relics of cultures long forgotten. It should be remembered that these laterite stones are far too heavy to have been transported here frivolously. Similarly, while their shapes are not complex, given the tools that must have been used to sculpt them, a great deal of time and effort went into shaping them. Their provenance and purpose are still somewhat a mystery to historians and archaeologists but they are assumed to be burials and to date from about 1,200 years ago.
Whoever erected them, the reasons for their erection are long lost. None of the local peoples (the Wolof, Tukulor or Fula) have any oral tradition relating to these stone monuments. As far as they are concerned, these stones have always been there.
Some of the best examples of these stone circles have been set aside and protected by the Gambian government but many others still may be seen from the roadside in fields among the crops.
There are some megaliths in West Africa, however, in the Gambia, near Wassu. Here are some photos of these unusual relics of cultures long forgotten. It should be remembered that these laterite stones are far too heavy to have been transported here frivolously. Similarly, while their shapes are not complex, given the tools that must have been used to sculpt them, a great deal of time and effort went into shaping them. Their provenance and purpose are still somewhat a mystery to historians and archaeologists but they are assumed to be burials and to date from about 1,200 years ago.
Whoever erected them, the reasons for their erection are long lost. None of the local peoples (the Wolof, Tukulor or Fula) have any oral tradition relating to these stone monuments. As far as they are concerned, these stones have always been there.
Some of the best examples of these stone circles have been set aside and protected by the Gambian government but many others still may be seen from the roadside in fields among the crops.
posted by Benjamin Madison | 12:00 AM
2 Comments:
it is very possible the original creators of the monuments had migrated from the location or dispersed through wars etc
They were built by ancient nomadic Slavs from Galicia Ukraine. In an attempt to escape rising sea levels at the end of the ice age they built all there round houses high on wooden stilts. At the end of the prehistoric period severe storms and tidal waves swept southern and western Ukraine and the Galician culture was swept in the Black sea. Not all Galician perished many survived drifting on currents to Gambia to Cambodia and Denmark and few unfortunates even made landfall in Antarctica and Ireland! The stone circles were erected shortly after landfall as a symbol of their defiance against the forces of nature.
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