Stone Circles of Senegambia, Senegal & Gambia

Stone Circles of Senegambia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wassu_stone_circle.jpg
Author: Ikiwaner


The Stone Circles of Senegambia are four large groups of ancient stone circles found along the 350-km stretch of the River Gambia, in the countries of Senegal and the Gambia. Within these four groups, named Sine Ngayène, Wanar, Wassu and Kerbatch, are some 93 stone circles comprising burial mounds, stelae, tumuli, and so on, built between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD.

Each stone circle has between ten to twenty-four stones of varying sizes and height. Most of them are between 1 meter to 2.5 meters, and are generally made of laterite. The purpose of the stone circles were only discovered quite recently, with research conducted by the National Geographic Society, suggesting that they were funerary or burial stones. There is also a suggestion that different body parts were buried in different sites, a hypothesis that is still to be confirmed.

Stone Circles of Senegambia was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 9-16 July, 2006.

Photos of Stone Circles of Senegambia

Kerbatch Stone Circle, Gambia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kerr_Batch_stone_circle3.jpg
Author: Ikiwaner

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 13 41 28 W 15 31 21 in the Central River Division of Gambia and Kaolack Region of Senegal
Inscription Year: 2006
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: I, III

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