Travellers who like to explore unusual sights should go to the Gambia. Here, in the Senegambia area are mysterious circles of megaliths, about the appointment and history of which scientists from around the world have been arguing for hundreds of years. Scientists managed to find out that the mysterious circles were built in the period from the 8th to the 12th century. With a more thorough investigation of the area, they discovered burials of earlier periods.
The circles were built from laterite. Each circle consists of 8 to 14 columns. In total, there are more than 1000 circles in this area. The most noteworthy are the districts Vassa, Sine-Ngaene, Kerbatch and Wannar. The history of the construction of megalithic circles remains mysterious and puzzling until our time. It is known that the Mandem tribes started to settle this area much later, only in the 16th century.
The shape of the lateral columns is surprisingly regular. Some of them are almost ideal cylinders, which indicates the accurate processing of metal tools. The weight of some columns reaches 7 tons, and the height - 2 meters. The area where the megalithic complex has been built is equally impressive and stretches more than 300 km along the coast of the Gambia river. Another unexplained mystery is a location of the quarries in which laterite has been mined. In Senegambia a few probable areas have been discovered. However, the place where so much stone has been promoted still can not be ascertained.
Next - Asante Traditional Buildings
Abomey Royal Palaces, Benin
Asante Traditional Buildings, Ghana
Useful staff nearby
Supermarket: 'Supermarket' in 15 km
Cafe/restaurant: 'MEDIB RESOURCING' in 13 km
Nearest airports:
» Saint Louis Airport XLS - in 280 km