The red pillars
In circles.
Peter van der Sluijs — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Peter van der Sluijs — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Peter van der Sluijs — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Peter van der Sluijs — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Peter van der Sluijs — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Wassu Stone Circles are a group of megalithic stone circles near the village of Wassu, north of Janjanbureh in central Gambia. They are part of the Senegambian stone circles spread across The Gambia and central Senegal, the largest concentration of stone circles anywhere in the world. UNESCO listed them as a World Heritage Site in 2006. The whole area holds over a thousand circles and burial mounds across a zone 350 km long and 100 km wide. Researchers are not certain when they were built, but the accepted range runs from the 3rd century BC to the 16th century AD. Burial mounds near Wassu have been dated to between 927 and 1305. You see pillars of dark red laterite, round or many-sided, standing in circles on sandy ground among dry grass and scattered trees. Some stand over two metres high, with rough, pitted surfaces. Some stones lean or have fallen. A small museum on site explains their history. They are about 21 km from Janjanbureh in a straight line, a short trip from there. Do not climb or move the stones. Carry water and a hat, as the midday heat is fierce.
In circles.
Across centuries.
The site's story.
Wassu, north of Janjanbureh, The Gambia
No one knows exactly, but they show an organised society using iron tools.
By road from Janjanbureh, about 21 km away.