Gigantic Pot found in Kano City

[neozizo]

On Sunday April 16, a gigantic pot was found in Kano city. It is about 129cm in height, 99cm in diameter, with a depth of 139cm, and the size of the flip is 50cm. It is estimated to have been buried over one thousand years ago. It was discovered in Gwammaja quarters of the Dala local government in Kano state.
Charcoal, bones, suspected to belong to that of the cat family, clay and pot sherds were found in the pot, when it was excavated, and about 20 people gathered to remove it from the hole in the ground.

The archeologists who handled the excavation of the pot said it was buried at about 210 centimeters below the ground level. Daily Trust investigations revealed that the Gwammaja incident was not the first of such in the history of the ancient city ofKano. For example in 2002, another historic pot was discovered in Agadasawa quarters of the metropolis, another in Goron-Dutse in Dala local government, in addition to other discoveries made either in the course of road constructions, construction of a septic tank (soak-way) or culverts. The discovery of the huge pot attracted great attention from the general public which temporarily converted the area into a site for a pilgrimage of sorts. The team of ethnographers, conservationists and historians, had to spend over three hours before they succeeded in excavating the pot. The pot was first discovered by three masons who were building a septic tank (soak-away) for one Alhaji Garba Muhammad in his house. Daily Trust gathered that the excavation work was done through an inch by inch scraping method, while information was taken at a 10 cm speed level, so as to document the contents of the
artifact, with a view to providing information concerning the dating of the pot, and its possible use in the pre-Islamic period, when it was believed to have been buried. In normal operational mode, a research is undertaken, before an excavation commences, but in the case of accidental discovery, such as in the case of the Gwammaja giant pot, a rescue operation is undertaken to save the object, and
prevent it from being destroyed. The excavation is normally expected to have been undertaken not later than three weeks from the discovery of an object so as
to ensure that it is done carefully, and allow it to dry from the ground moisture, so that it would not be broken during the excavation work.

But for fear that the pot might be broken by the large crowd who trooped to see it; the excavation work was completed within 24 hours. The landlord and the ward head of Gwammaja were compelled to maintain vigilance over the pot, before the excavators started digging, because a crowd kept converging upon the scene, and
even wanted to touch the artifact. Malam Garba Muhammad, aged 50 years, is the leader of the masons, who discovered the pot while digging the soak-way. He
told Daily Trust that initially they thought the artifact was a small one, and even attempted to excavate it with their hands, but such effort proved
unsuccessful, as it was deep below the soil surface.
Malam Muhammad said they subsequently informed the landlord on the discovery of the pot, who also reported the incident to the ward head. Asked whether he had ever witnessed such pot in the course of his business, the mason replied that "You see I have spent over 30 years in the business of digging local latrines, soak-aways, culverts, drainages, wells and even graves, but never have I in anyway come across such a big pot. I am sure it was buried before the arrival of Islam to Hausaland, because even my grandfathers could not precisely say when the pot was buried."

read more -

http://allafrica.com/stories/200605030040.html

[admin]

zizo

Thanks a lot for bringing this to our attention.

Madalla.

[reenyg]

On Sunday April 16, a gigantic pot was found in Kano city. It is about 129cm in height, 99cm in diameter, with a depth of 139cm, and the size of the flip is 50cm. It is estimated to have been buried over one thousand years ago. It was discovered in Gwammaja quarters of the Dala local government in Kano state. ..................read more -

http://allafrica.com/stories/200605030040.html

I am interested in tele-exploring the site (using 'Google Earth' ).  I can locate familiar landmarks and measure distances if the latitude & longitude is known.
Here is an example of the resolution available( correct to few inches!) to anyone who is interested in using this technology to enhance learning..
http://static.flickr.com/65/167890867_be93522c7d_b.jpg
( view of my former school..)

Reeny