Through funding from American Express, WMF assisted the Mission Culturelle in their efforts to salvage excavations by creating non-intrusive erosion barricades made of bagged earth, stones, and waste-wood. (...)
Through funding from American Express, WMF assisted the Mission Culturelle in their efforts to salvage excavations by creating non-intrusive erosion barricades made of bagged earth, stones, and waste-wood. Although initial plans to plant a greenbelt of thick, indigenous foliage around the site were slowed due to an unusually early flood season in the Middle Niger, plants were grown to a sufficient size in greenhouses and eventually transplanted along the site’s periphery to prevent future erosion. A large ravine on the western edge of the site was filled with locally available materials to also slow the flow of rainwater and prevent damage to archaeological deposits.
Students and Peace Corps volunteers assisted in training efforts at the site to address site conservation needs and improve anti-looting measures. Guards and guides were hired to assure systematic adoption of management tools to protect the site more fully. Plans were initiated for a small museum to house excavated artifacts
