Tag Archives: Moyen Âge

2012 # 4

2012-08-FABRE

The Beli Valley (Markoye, Burkina Faso):

an Important Siderurgical District
in the Time of the Great Empires

Jean-Marc FABRE

ico-pdf-02   Download

Abstract

The surveys carried out in the valley of the Beli in the north of Burkina Faso enabled to identify numerous metallurgical sites. The uniqueness and specialisation of the area, together with the intensity and standardisation of the production, seem to characterise a siderurgical district from the late 1st and the early 2nd millennium AD. With the exception of the excavations carried out on the neighbouring sites of Kissi and Oursi, the chronocultural regional contexts are little known and do not yet enable the identification of the actors or sponsors of the metallurgical activity. We identify here the various avenues of investigation provided by the comparison of the different written and oral sources.

To cite this article

Fabre J.-M., 2012 – The Beli Valley (Markoye, Burkina Faso): an Important Siderurgical District in the Time of the Great Empires, in F.-X. Fauvelle-Aymar, Palethnology of Africa, P@lethnology, 4, 193-207.
2012 # 4

2012-10–FAUVELLE-AYMAR

Niani Redux

A Final Rejection of the Identification of the Site of Niani
(Republic of Guinea) with the Capital of the Kingdom of Mali

François-Xavier FAUVELLE-AYMAR

ico-pdf-02   Download

Abstract

Over the last century, a considerable body of literature has asserted that the site of Niani, in the Republic of Guinea, conceals the ruins of the capital of the medieval kingdom of Mali at the height of its splendour, in the 14th century AD. This hypothesis was constructed under the influence of a number of factors, but always independently of the archaeological data. This article provides an examination of the archaeological data available for Niani, and concludes that there are no arguments in favour of this hypothesis.

To cite this article

Fauvelle-Aymar F.-X. 2012 – Niani redux. Niani Redux. A Final Rejection of the Identification of the Site of Niani (Republic of Guinea) with the Capital of the Kingdom of Mali, in F.-X. Fauvelle-Aymar, Palethnology of Africa, P@lethnology, 4, 235-252.