"Kanem-Bornou : archéologie et histoire d’un empire millénaire"
Exhibition at the Chadian National Museum, N'Djamena
With the kind support of the Centre for Interdisciplinary African Studies (ZIAF), the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Embassy in Chad, Dr Carlos Magnavita and his local research partner, Dr Dangbet Zakinet from the University of N’Djamena, opened a special exhibition in the Chadian National Museum, N’Djamena, on 7th December 2024.
Entitled ‘Kanem-Bornou : Archéologe et histoire d’un empire millénaire’, the main aim of the exhibition is to present to the Chadian public the results of the archaeological research project ‘The Lake Chad region as a Crossroads’, carried out in the country between 2019 and 2024. This six-year project was designed to address some of the unresolved issues surrounding the Kanem-Borno Empire (8th/9th to 19th centuries), the longest-lived pre-colonial state in sub-Saharan Africa.
The research project produced a number of important results. Among other things, it showed that the study area is home to the oldest and largest concentration of archaeological fired-brick settlements south of the Sahara. That the early contacts of Kanem-Borno within Africa were far more diverse than previously assumed. And that the ruins of the largest of the excavated archaeological fired-brick settlements are most likely Njimi, the Kingdom’s long-lost medieval capital.
These and other findings, as well as the material remains on which they are based, are presented to the Chadian public for the first time in vivid posters and display cases. The exhibition can be seen as an attempt to popularize scientific research results through targeted knowledge transfer within Africa. The exhibition was originally scheduled to remain open until 22 January 2025, but has already been extended by the museum direction until the end of March 2025 due to the large number of visitors. However, there are already plans to continue the exhibition until the end of 2025. After that, some elements will be integrated into the museum’s permanent exhibition.
A good impression of the exhibition is provided by this video.
