Jarigole pillar site

The Jarigole pillar site is one of the megalithic communal cemetery sites in Lake Turkana Basin in Northern Kenya associated with the Pastoral Neolithic period. The site is located on the eastern shores of Lake Turkana in the southeastern edge of the Sibiloi National Park. Situated in a recessional beach which is 70 m (230 ft) above the 1973 lake level, the site includes oval platforms  >1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft) with a circular mound (120 m3 (4,200 cu ft) of sediments), and 28 basalt pillars each weighing about 200 kg (440 lb) and moved over a distance of 2 km (1.2 mi) from the site. The site is believed to have been constructed by the first wave of ancient herders who migrated to the region down from the Sahara around 5,000 years ago, a period marked by rapid climatic, economic and social change.

Radiocarbon dates suggest that the site was used over a relatively short period of time from 4940 to 4630 BP. However, the accuracy of these dates are contestable owing to the fact the dateable materials, which includes Ostrich Egg Shell (OES) beads and charcoal does not provide the exact date of deposition, which are the main limitations of these materials.

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