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Stone Circles of Senegambia 1
Stone Circles of Senegambia 2
Stone Circles of Senegambia 3
Stone Circles of Senegambia 4
Stone Circles of Senegambia 5
© UNESCO World Heritage Centre
UNESCO WHCCulturalInscribed 2006

Stone Circles of Senegambia

Overview

The site consists 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. 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.

About Stone Circles of Senegambia

The Senegambian stone circles, or the Wassu stone circles, are groups of megalithic stone circles located in the Gambia north of Janjanbureh and in central Senegal. Spread across a region 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi), they are sometimes divided into the Wassu (Gambian) and Sine-Saloum (Senegalese) circles, but this is purely a national division. Containing over 1,000 stone circles and tumuli spread across an area 350 km (220 mi) long and 100 km (62 mi) wide, the Senegambian stone circles are the largest concentration of stone circles seen anywhere in the world, and they are an extensive sacred landscape that was used for more than 1,500 years. The sites were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006.

Read more on Wikipedia

Selection Criteria

(i)(iii)

Components(4 locations)

Details

Countries
Gambia, Senegal
ISO Codes
GM, SN
Area
9.85 ha
Transboundary
Yes
Coordinates
13.6911, -15.5225
View on UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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Stone Circles of Senegambia