<< Text Pages >> Senegambia Circles - Stone Circle in Gambia

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 01 October 2008  Page Views: 21742

Neolithic and Bronze AgeSite Name: Senegambia Circles Alternative Name: Sénégambian stone circles, Senegambian circles
Country: Gambia
NOTE: This site is 1621.232 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Stone Circle

Latitude: 13.691111N  Longitude: 15.5225W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 no data
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Stone Circle in Gambia. Consisting of four large groups of stone circles that represent an extraordinary concentration of over 1,000 monuments in a band 100 km wide along some 350 km of the River Gambia between Kaolack and Tambacounda, in the region of Koungheul.

The four groups, Sine Ngayène, Wanar, Wassu and Kerbatch cover 93 stone circles and numerous tumuli, burial mounds, some of which have been excavated to reveal material that suggest dates between 3rd century BC and 16th century AD.

Together the stone circles of laterite pillars and their associated burial mounds present a vast sacred landscape created over more than 1,500 years. It reflects a prosperous, highly organized and lasting society. The stones were quarried with iron tools and skillfully shaped into almost identical cylindrical or polygonal seven-ton pillars, on average about two metres high.

Each circle contains between 8 and 14 pillars and is 4 to 6 metres across. All are located near the burial mounds. This outstanding site is representative of a much wider megalithic zone in the region, which in terms of size, consistency, and complexity appears to be unrivalled anywhere in the world. The finely worked individual stones display precise and skillful working practices and contribute to the imposing order and grandeur of the overall complexes.

Source: UNESCO

Central River Division - Gambia, Kaolack Region - Senegal

Note: See the comments for an article about visiting the Senegambia Circles, with a photo. Thanks to hewpop for the link.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 46.3km E 100° Njai Kunda Stone Circles Stone Circle
 47.2km E 82° Kerbatch Stone Circles Stone Circle
 52.5km ENE 77° Nioro Kunda Stone Circles Stone Circle
 58.0km E 87° Niani Maru Stone Circles Stone Circle
 70.2km E 90° Wassu Stone Circles* Stone Circle
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 1570.9km N 0° Pozo Izquierdo* Barrow Cemetery
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 1578.0km N 360° Fortalezas (1)* Cave or Rock Shelter
 1578.1km N 360° Fortalezas (2)* Ancient Village or Settlement
 1578.6km N 360° Centro de Interpretación La Fortaleza* Museum
 1579.7km N 351° Tagoror Rock Art
 1579.7km N 351° Los Letreros Rock Art
 1580.5km N 0° Agüimes* Modern Stone Circle etc
 1580.8km N 0° Audiencia* Cave or Rock Shelter
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 1582.6km N 0° Museo de Guayadeque* Museum
 1582.8km N 360° Poblado de Tunte* Cave or Rock Shelter
 1583.6km N 0° Cueva Bermeja* Cave or Rock Shelter
 1584.2km N 0° Guayadeque Valley* Cave or Rock Shelter
 1585.2km N 360° Humiaga* Ancient Temple
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 1586.6km N 0° Cuatro Puertas* Ancient Temple
 1587.2km N 1° Pablo de Tufia* Ancient Village or Settlement
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"Senegambia Circles" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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In Africa, stone circles speak across the ages by Andy B on Wednesday, 01 October 2008
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Article in the Boston Globe about visiting the Senegambia Circles, with a photo.

Sénégambian stone circles come in several forms. The most common consists of a dozen or so monolithic, laterite pillars, arranged in a circle around a grave, with one "frontal stone" on the eastern side. These circles, along with smaller stone ones and simple stone-covered mounds, or tumuli, were secondary burial sites. Bones were placed here after the rest of the body decomposed at a primary site. The bones, usually from several bodies, were arranged according to an elaborate plan that no one today understands.

The circles were also grouped in precise arrangements that are equally mysterious. And it was all done by a people that no historian or anthropologist has been able to identify, even though the circles were made continuously for about 2,800 years starting in 1300 BC. The circles are so absent from any conventional history, in fact, that although there are about 17,000 stone circles in 2,000 groupings across the region, most of my Sénégalese friends had never heard of them.


http://www.boston.com/travel/getaways/africa/articles/2008/09/28/in_africa_stone_circles_speak_across_the_ages/?page=1
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Senegambia Circles, the latest addition to the Unesco List by Andy B on Wednesday, 26 July 2006
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The World Heritage Committee sitting at its 30th session in Vilnius, Lithuania, has approved the inscription of the Stone Circles of the Senegambia in the World Heritage List. This is The Gambia’s second inscription in the prestigious list which constitute cultural and natural sites of outstanding universal value which form the common heritage of humankind, and whose protection is the obligation of the international community as a whole. The Gambia obtained its first inscription under James Island and Related Sites in 2003.

http://www.thepoint.gm/National%20Stories488.htm
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