La problématique des « tumulus pierriers » au Mali

Abstract

Early in the 20th century, in southern and central Mali several varieties of subterranean chambers were dis­covered. These were normally dug into lateritic bedrock, surrounded with blocks of laterite and surmounted with circular earthen mounds. These structures were variously interpreted as the “dwellings of troglodytes”, as mines for the extraction of iron ore, or as silos for the storage of grain before being identified as hypogea by archaeological research in 1961, when it was found that they could contain multiple inhumations. Since then they have entered into the West African archaeological vocabulary under the generic name of ‘stone tumuli’. Thus, all structures having a similar external appearance were automatically considered as burial chambers. However, research undertaken since 1979, by archaeologists, oral historians and socio-linguists have shown that these are in fact a diverse set of monuments with varied purposes. Historically they served as refuges for brigands, hypogea covered with a mass of earth or stones, or foci of ritual, amongst other uses. The small number of radiometric dates obtained for such structures thus far does not allow us to firmly situate them chronologically. Until such time as new data can be collected, it is best to simply term them ‘stone circles’ because their nature simply cannot be assumed prior to excavation. Future research might, however, allow us to categorize certain distinctive elements visible from the surface.

Keywords

• mound
• tumulus
• stone circles
• funerary monuments
• ritual monuments
• hypogea