Information
 The
ancient Wassu Stone Circles are located around Wassu
in the Central River
Region and are believed to be burial mounds of Kings
and chiefs in ancient times over 1,200 years old and
has been dated to between 750-1000 AD, and because of
this local legend has it that there is a curse on anyone
who disturbs those laid to rest there. This may account
as to why they have lasted so long with little human
interference.
The Complex:
The stones sizes and circular shapes do vary from 10
to 20 stones with sizes from 4 to 6 metres across. Though
they were burial sites the stones themselves are of
a younger age than the graves. The average height of
each stone column is 5 feet 9 inches. The 11 large concentration
of circles have puzzled many a traveller over the centuries
and have been the subject of dozens of archaeological
excavations since the 1800s.
Excavations were made on them earlier this century but
none came closer to laying bare the whys and wherefores
of the site than the one carried out about over 30 years
ago which revealed their age. What has been found are
iron weapons, arrow and spearheads, knives, pottery
vessels and bronze ornaments
The stones were cut out of laterite that occurs in large
quarry outcrops in this region and then shaped with
iron tools into cylindrical or polygonal shapes.
A museum situated at the "Stone Circles" in
Wassu Central River Division was opened in 2000. Hundreds
of stone circles can be found in The Gambia and Senegambia
region. They are part of a geographical grouping of
over 1,000 monuments in a wide strip measuring 62 miles
wide and along 217 miles of the Gambia
River.
This sacred site was declared a National Monument in
1995 and on the 21st July, 2006, 93 monuments in the
Senegambia region (Sine Ngayčne, Wanar) were declared
by UNESCO to be
a World Heritage
Site.
Travel Information:
This attraction is accessible through localised taxi
transport. Journey time is about 5 hours from Banjul.
You get off at Janjangbureh
and make your way up to the site. Admission is D50.
You can't miss the signpost deployed on the main road
at Georgetown. This is a town that still maintains its
colonial bearing in buildings and other things attributable
to that period. Otherwise known as Janjangbureh. Small
and silent as they are their very nature continue to
puzzle even authorities on the subject of ancient African
history. If you are a fan of Africa, its people and
its history prepare for variety and originality. |
