The Ruins of Loropéni
The ruins of Loropéni are an ancient heritage site near the town of Loropéni in southern Burkina Faso. They were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2009. These ruins are the country's first World Heritage site. The site, which spans 11,130 square metres (119,800 sq ft), includes an array of stone walls that comprised an ancient fortress, the best preserved of ten in the area. They date back at least a thousand years. The settlement was occupied by the Lohron or Kulango people and prospered from the trans-Saharan gold trade, reaching its height between the 14th and 17th centuries AD. It was abandoned in the early 19th century.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RuinsofLorop%C3%A9ni
Ruins of Loropeni Shed Light on Ancient Gold Trade and Are Thought to Hold More Mysteries
It is widely accepted that the Loropeni was connected to the Trans-Saharan gold trade that lasted from the 7 th to the 17 th centuries AD. The lands of Sub-Saharan Africa were rich in gold and this precious metal was sought after by the rulers of the states around the Mediterranean. Salt was exchanged for this gold and the trade between Sub-Saharan Africa and Mediterranean brought great wealth to those along its trade route. Consequently, the region saw the flourishing of a network of settlements as well as the rise of several powerful states during that period. The 7 th century, for instance, saw the rise of the Ghana Empire while the Mali Empire came to power during the 13 th century.
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