Senegambian stone circles

Stone Circles of Senegambia
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Wassu stone circles
LocationThe Gambia and Senegal
Includes
  1. Kerbatch
  2. Wassu
  3. Sine Ngayène
  4. Wanar
CriteriaCultural: (i), (iii)
Reference1226
Inscription2006 (30th Session)
Area9.85 ha (24.3 acres)
Buffer zone110.05 ha (271.9 acres)
Coordinates13°41′28″N 15°31′21″W / 13.69111°N 15.52250°W / 13.69111; -15.52250
Senegambian stone circles is located in The Gambia
Senegambian stone circles
Location of Senegambian stone circles in The Gambia
Senegambian stone circles is located in Senegal
Senegambian stone circles
Senegambian stone circles (Senegal)
Wassu stone circles

The Senegambian stone circles (French: Cercles mégalithiques de Sénégambie) or the Wassu stone circles[1] are groups of megalithic stone circles that lie in The Gambia north of Janjanbureh and in central Senegal. Spread across a region 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi),[2] they are sometimes divided into the Wassu (Gambian) and Sine-Saloum (Senegalese) circles, but this is purely a national division. Containing over 1000 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 an extensive sacred landscape that was used for more than 1500 years.[3][4] As a result, the sites were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006.[4]

  1. ^ Matt, Phillips; Andrew, David; Bainbridge, James; Bewer, Tim; Bindloss, Joe; Carillet, Jean-Bernard; Clammer, Paul; Cornwell, Jane; Crossan, Rob; et al. (Authors) (September 2007). The Africa Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the Continent. Coordinated by Matt Phillips. Footscray, Australia: Lonely Planet. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-74104-602-1. OCLC 144596621.
  2. ^ Laport et al. 2012, p. 410
  3. ^ Stone Circles of Senegambia [in] Alvarez, Melissa, Earth Frequency: Sacred Sites, Vortexes, Earth Chakras, and Other Transformational Places, pp. 152-3, Llewellyn Worldwide (2019), ISBN 9780738755410 [1] (Retrieved 8 July 2019)
  4. ^ a b "Stone Circles of Senegambia". UNESCO World Heritage List. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 13 Feb 2022.