GAMBIA: Wassau Stone Circles
Stone circles are common in Europe but nowhere counts such a
large concentration as the Upper River Division of Gambia in West Africa.
More than 1000 monuments dot the landscape between the Saloum and Gambia
rivers in the region known historically as the Sene-Gambia. One of the
biggest groups - around 52 circles - near the small village of Wassau was inscribed on the UN World Heritage List.
in 2006. Tests carried out by the
University of Dakar date the stones from as early as the 8th
century AD. That so many are found in such a localised area
indicates a dynamic, possibly a royal culture. Items found by archaeologists
indicate that iron tools were used to quarry the laterite rock and shape it
into the cylindrical pillars averaging 1.5 metres in height and weighing
around seven tons apiece. Most circles are located near ancient tumuli
one theory being that the layout - a small one next to a large one and so on
- is linked to family burial practices but they may also have been
associated with pagan worship. Local people traditionally place small rocks
on top of the pillars but the origin of this custom is equally lost in the
mists of time. Janjangbure (Georgetown) is on the road and river link to visit Wassau .