NEWSsuggest that this mysterious
complex of rings of boul-
ders, small stone pillars, and
cairns functioned as both
a cemetery—the earliest
monumental site in East
Africa—and a landmark for
African herders between
4,000 and 5,000 years ago.
Partly funded by a Na-
tional Geographic grant, then international team
of researchers has
opened a land-
mark explora-
tion of the Lothagam North
Pillar Site near Lake Turka-
na in Kenya. Based on their
initial research published in
the Proceedings of the Na-
tional Academy of Scienc-
es (PNAS), their findingsKenya’s Monumental
City of the Dead
The first glimpse of an ancient culture surprised archaeologists with a rich
trove of carefully crafted artifacts found in a necropolis near Lake Turkana.ANCIENT BURIALS IN AFRICAteam excavated a small sec-
tion (just 43 square feet of a
7,500-square-foot site) and
uncovered 36 sets of hu-
man remains. The dig site
concentrated on the circular
esplanade ringed with boul-
ders, but as many as 500 more
burials may lie within the
necropolis. Remains of men,
women, children, and the4 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019IENNNYA
LOTHAGAM NORTH is
the largest of several
ancient herder sites
located near Lake
Turkana, Kenya.
Known as “pillar sites,”
they are distinguished
by small monolithic
structures built more
than 4,000 years ago.CARLA KLEHM/PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (PNAS)
THIRTY-SIX BURIALS OF
ANCIENT HERDERS WERE
EXCAVATED FROM A TEST
PIT AT LOTHAGAM NORTH,
KENYA. THE FLAT CENTRAL
AREA IS BELIEVED TO HOUSE A
MUCH LARGER CEMETERY.BEADS AND JEWELRY
MADE FROM VIBRANTLY
COLORED STONES WERE FOUND
IN THE ANCIENT CEMETERY
OF LOTHAGAM NORTH IN
NORTHERN KENYA.