Scattered across southwestern BURKINA FASO are about a dozen historic fortified settlements and at least 100 stone enclosures, signifying where the Koulango people established a burgeoning gold mining and trading civilization. While the trans-Saharan gold trade particularly helped Koulango society flourish between the 14th and 17th centuries, stone ruins near the city of Loropéni possibly date back about 1,000 years ago to the 11th century. These ruins are protected the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 2016. Update: a couple newly established sites in Burkina Faso were inscribed to the World Heritage List in 2017 and 2019. The height of Loropéni's laterite stone walls can reach up to six meters or almost 20 feet. The UNESCO map below shows the ruins' location — northwest of Loropéni and north of Hobikoko village in an isolated, forested area. More photos and information can be found on UNESCO's webpage, conveniently linked above.
No comments:
Post a Comment