The Sine Ngayene Archaeological Project: Exploring the Senegambian Megalithic Landscape / Le Projet archéologique de Sine-Ngayene : exploration du paysage mégalithique sénégambien.

The megalithic monuments from the Senegambia vary in shape, size, form, and spatial arrangements. Some are isolated with others clustered in very large cemeteries approaching 100 ha in surface extent. These monuments have fascinated a vocational and professional archaeologists alike and have been investigated since the Colonial period principally from a culturalhistory perspective. The program, “Sine Ngayene Archaeological Project”, launched in 2001 with a research station in west flank of the village of Ngayene-Sabakh in West Central Senegal. In this new project, the “megalithism” is conceived as a multi-layered cultural mapping that aimed at socializing the physical space. The study area – the Petit-Bao-Bolong drainage– was surveyed along its 25 kms and 10 kms maximum width. All the megalithic cemeteries and habitation sites were mapped. Three burial sites, along the cemeteries’ size gradient, were selected for further excavation. Sine-Ngayene, a more than 100 ha in extent recently listed as UNESCO World Heritage site, was chosen for selective probes of some of its hundred of monuments. Ngayene II, 1.5 ha in size, was fully excavated after five field seasons. And Santhiou-Ngayene, a 0.75 ha site, is currently under excavation. The results obtained after some nine field seasons from cemeteries, quarries, habitation and iron-smelting sites, are very promising. Our understanding of the Senegambian megalithic phenomenon is being broadened very significantly in terms of chronology, architectural diversity, and variability of mortuary programs.

Les monuments megalithiques de la Senagambie presentent d’importantes variations de dimension, forme, et distribution spatiale. Certains sont relativement isoles, d’autres se retrouvent dans des cimetieres pouvant atteindre 100 ha de superficie. Ces monuments ont fascines les chercheurs, archeologues amateurs et professionnels depuis la periode coloniale. Le programme “projet archeologique de Sine-Ngayene a ete lance en 2001 avec la construction d’une base de recherche a Ngayene-Sabakh, dans le centre-ouest du Senegal. Dans ce projet, le “megalithisme” est conceptualise comme “une cartographie culturelle polysemique visant a socialiser l’espace physique”. Le bassin versant du Petit-Bao Bolong a ete choisi comme aire de recherche. Celle-ci mesure 25 kms de long et 10 kms de largeur maximum. Elle a ete entierement prospectee, tous les cimetieres et monuments releves par GPS, photographies, et dessines. Trois cimetieres, retenus en raison de leur taille et situation le long du Petit-Bao-Bolong, ont fait l’objet de fouille archeologique. C’est le cas du cimetiere de Sine-Ngayene, qui mesure plus de 100 ha avec des centaines de monuments, et classe sur la liste du patrimoine mondial de UNESCO; Ngayene II, a l’ouest de Ngayene-Sabakh, avec 1.5 ha de superficie et une quarantaine de monuments, tous fouilles; et enfin, Santhiou-Ngayene, site de 0,75 ha et 18 monuments, encore en cours de fouille. Les donnees rassemblees au bout de 9 saisons de fouilles sur les cimetieres, les sites d’habitat et de metallurgie du fer, sont tres prometteuses. La comprehension du megalithisme Senegambien s’elargie considerablement en terme de chronologie, diversite architecturale, et variabilite des programmes funeraires.