IXᵉ siècle – XIIIᵉ siècle
Southern Mauritania, near 15°46′N, 8°00′W
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Kumbi-Saleh is identified in the extract as the probable site of Kumbi, the seat of government of ancient Ghana. Excavations began in 1914 and continued in 1949–51 and 1970, but they did not reach clearly pre-Islamic levels. The excavated floors appear to belong to the traders’ quarter described by al-Bakri in 1067, with radiocarbon dates ranging from approximately AD 828 to 1210.
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Le récit
Kumbi-Saleh was identified with the ruins of Kumbi, the government seat attributed to ancient Ghana. The identification arose from traditions preserved in Walata and from the work of A. Bonnel de Mezieres, who began excavations at the site in 1914. Its location, just inside the southern boundary of modern Mauritania, places it close to the desert-facing zone where Ghana interacted with Saharan commerce.
Further excavations were conducted in 1949–51 and in 1970. Although the investigations reached considerable depths, they did not expose levels that could be recognized as pre-Islamic. The excavated ground floors instead seem to relate to the traders’ quarter described by al-Bakri in 1067, making the site especially relevant to Ghana’s documented commercial phase rather than conclusively proving its earliest occupation.
Radiocarbon determinations from the site produced dates of approximately AD 828 ± 115, 963 ± 114, and 1210 ± 120. These results establish occupation within the first and second millennia AD, but they do not resolve the chronology of Ghana’s origins. Kumbi-Saleh consequently remains an important but incomplete archaeological window onto the kingdom.
IXᵉ siècle – XIIIᵉ siècle
Southern Mauritania, near 15°46′N, 8°00′W
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Kumbi-Saleh is identified in the extract as the probable site of Kumbi, the seat of government of ancient Ghana. Excavations began in 1914 and continued in 1949–51 and 1970, but they did not reach clearly pre-Islamic levels. The excavated floors appear to belong to the traders’ quarter described by al-Bakri in 1067, with radiocarbon dates ranging from approximately AD 828 to 1210.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Kumbi-Saleh was identified with the ruins of Kumbi, the government seat attributed to ancient Ghana. The identification arose from traditions preserved in Walata and from the work of A. Bonnel de Mezieres, who began excavations at the site in 1914. Its location, just inside the southern boundary of modern Mauritania, places it close to the desert-facing zone where Ghana interacted with Saharan commerce.
Further excavations were conducted in 1949–51 and in 1970. Although the investigations reached considerable depths, they did not expose levels that could be recognized as pre-Islamic. The excavated ground floors instead seem to relate to the traders’ quarter described by al-Bakri in 1067, making the site especially relevant to Ghana’s documented commercial phase rather than conclusively proving its earliest occupation.
Radiocarbon determinations from the site produced dates of approximately AD 828 ± 115, 963 ± 114, and 1210 ± 120. These results establish occupation within the first and second millennia AD, but they do not resolve the chronology of Ghana’s origins. Kumbi-Saleh consequently remains an important but incomplete archaeological window onto the kingdom.