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[QUOTE]Originally posted by The Explorer: [QB] African complexes used a variety of building materials, and their extent of use [i]varied[/i] from complex to complex, depending on the location of the region, availability and type of primary building material, nearest accessible trade network, and personal wealth of homeowners. There is no unison Courtesy of Ray A. Kea, According primary historic texts... Al-Bakri gives a description (1068) of the royal capital: [i]The city of Ghana consists of two towns situated on a plain. One of these towns, which is inhabited by Muslims, is large and possesses twelve mosques, in one of which they assemble for the Friday prayer. There are salaried imams and muezzins, as well as jurists and scholars. In the environs are wells with sweet water, from which they drink and with which they grow vegetables. The king’s town is six miles distant from this one and bears the name Al-Ghaba. Between these two towns there are continuous habitations. [b]The houses of the inhabitants are of stone and acacia wood[/b]. The king has a palace and a number of domed buildings all surrounded with an enclosure like a city wall. In the king’s town, and not far from his court of justice, is a mosque where the Muslims who arrive at his court pray. Around the king’s town are domed buildings and groves and thickets where the sorcerers of these people, men in charge of the religious cult, live…. The king’s interpreters, the official in charge of his treasury and the majority of his ministers are Muslims (Levtzion and Hopkins 2000: 80).[/i] From archaeology... Kumbi Saleh: [i]The Koumbi Saleh tumulus has a circumference of 2.4 kilometers and occupies 44 hectares of land. It was formerly surrounded by a wall, most of which is no longer traceable on the ground, but vestiges of its monumental gate are still visible. Remnants of other encircling walls suggest either different stages of fortification development or a city fortified by a double- or triple-wall defense system. Within the walls, the city was densely built up on higher and lower elevations. Archaeologists have identified three principal thoroughfares as well as numerous narrow, straight streets and a large square, which probably served as a market, and many small squares. [b]These public spaces demarcated the sixty blocks of single- and multi-story stone houses on the city’s higher elevation[/b]. Rows of shops connected to the houses’ street fronts opened onto the streets. In this section of the city (measuring 700 by 700 meters) were located the royal palace and the residences of officials and rich merchants. Surrounding the elevated quarters is the city’s lower section (measuring 500 by 700 meters).[/i] Awdaghast: [i][b]Level 1[/b], 7th–8th century: [b]mud brick housing predominates and the first stone buildings were constructed[/b]; metal working (particularly in iron, copper, and gold) and local pottery production were important; glazed pottery imported from the Maghrib appeared in great quantity; Kharijite (Ibadi) traders in residence. [b]Level 2[/b], 9th–late 10th century: in the second half of the 10th century the town is reorganized with the laying out of streets and public squares; an artisans’ quarter is organized; [b]multi-story stone houses built around courtyards[/b] appear in the upper town; luxury goods from the eastern and central Maghrib were imported in huge quantities (glazed pottery of all kinds, glassware, jewelry in gold, silver, copper, brass, and semi-precious stones); the metal working and the pottery industries flourished; beginning of glass bead production. [b]Level 3[/b], late 10th–11th century: [b]multi-story stone houses continue to be built but their architectural styles are transformed[/b]; crafts (e.g., weaving, metalworking, bead and pottery making, and leather working) are carried out on a huge scale in the artisans’ quarter; glass weights were common and gold ingots were cast; deforestation is evident by the first half of the 11th century; part of the city, in particular the artisans’ quarter, was destroyed by the Almoravids (1054) and was partially abandoned; imports from the Maghrib and al-Andalus remained constant. [b]Level 4[/b], 12th–13th century: the artisans’ quarter was reorganized on a smaller scale; glass bead production prospered until the end of the 12th century; metal working activity declined significantly but the production of pottery and leatherware continued unabated and fl ourished; new pottery patterns were introduced; [b]quality of domestic architecture changed (latrines introduced; interior of stone houses painted)[/b]; a small mosque was built in the 13th century imports from the Maghrib and al-Andalus continued throughout the period but modestly compared to earlier times, suggesting that traders were bypassing the city[/i]... Ancient Ghana ruins: [IMG]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/663/kumbisaleh3.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/7750/kumbisaleh2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/5745/kumbisaleh.jpg[/IMG] Schematic of remnants of a house in Ancient Ghana--click here: [URL=http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/2023/axiometricplanhousekumb.png][i]Axiometric plan of house in the Great Mosque quarter[/i][/URL] Schematic of a City of Kano stone building: Fairly high resolution image -- click here: [URL=http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2593/cityofkanoarchitect1.jpg][i]City of Kano building[/i][/URL] The Ashanti made fairly extensive use of stone in building construction, from government buildings to private homeowners: [IMG]http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7648/precolonialghana50.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/3715/precolonialghana33.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/3075/precolonialghana6.png[/IMG] Indigenous rock-cut architecture styles were extensively used in erecting the churches of Lalibela: [IMG]http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7545/lalibelarockchurch.gif[/IMG] External links: [URL=http://exploring-africa.blogspot.com/2011/01/modernization-of-saheliansudanic.html]Modernization of Sahelian/Sudanic Archtectural Traditions[/URL] [URL=http://exploring-africa.blogspot.com/2010/03/before-ruins.html]Before the Ruins[/URL] [/QB][/QUOTE]
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