Ten fortresses with imposing stone walls in the Lobi area is part of a larger group of 100 stone enclosures that remain from the trans-Saharan gold trade. The ruins are at least 1,000 years old. The settlement was occupied by the Lohron or Koulango peoples, who controlled the extraction and transformation of gold in the region when it reached its apogee from the 14th to the 17th century.
The "W" National Park of Niger site, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996 was expanded to includes parts in Benin and Burkino Faso in 2017.
This site contains five elements located in different provinces of the country: Douroula, Tiwega, Yamane, Kindibo, and Bekuy. It includes about fifteen standing, natural-draught furnaces, several other furnace structures, mines and traces of dwellings. Douroula, which dates back to the 8th century BC, is the oldest evidence of the development of iron production found in Burkina Faso.
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Last updated: August 2, 2021