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New light on the early Islamic West African gold trade: coin moulds from Tadmekka, Mali

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2011

Sam Nixon ,
Thilo Rehren  and
Maria Filomena Guerra
Sam Nixon
Affiliation:
1UCL Institute of Archaeology, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H OPY, UK (Email: [email protected])
Thilo Rehren
Affiliation:
2UCL-Qatar, P.O. Box 23689, Georgetown Building, Education City, Doha, Qatar (Email: [email protected])
Maria Filomena Guerra
Affiliation:
3UMR 171 CNRS, Laboratoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, Palais du Louvre, 14 quai François Mitterrand, 75001 Paris, France (Email: [email protected])
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Extract

Tadmekka, a town at the southern edge of the Sahara desert, has produced good evidence for making gold coins in the ninth–tenth century AD, the first concrete proof of coinage in pre-colonial West Africa. These were produced by melting gold dust or nuggets in ceramic moulds, similar to those used for the first pellet-like coinage of the European Iron Age. The authors suggest these coins were not political statements, but were probably blank and intended to facilitate the busy early Islamic caravan trade to destinations north, south or east. On arrival at the Mediterranean coast, these blank pieces would have been melted down or converted into inscribed coins by the local authorities.

Keywords

SaharaTadmekkaEssoukTimbuktuninth–tenth century ADearly Islamiccoinsgoldtrade
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 330 , December 2011 , pp. 1353 - 1368
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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