by Lawrence Conyers
GPR Analysis of the Mortuary Features at Pillar Sites in the Turkana Lake Area, Kenya
Four sites with standing pillars, often in clusters or circles, which are estimated to be 8,000 years old, were constructed on the margin of a large freshwater lake in northern Kenya in the early Pliocene. Limited excavations of one of them showed abundant human remains associated with these monuments. GPR surveys were carried out within…
4 responses to “GPR Analysis of the Mortuary Features at Pillar Sites in the Turkana Lake Area, Kenya”
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This is Larry. I posted this Kenya article a few months ago, but pulled it down a few weeks ago after I heard about results of excavations from this summer at one of the pillar sites (Manemanya). In collaboration with Brenna Fennessey from University of Florida we are now re-interpreting that site this autumn. So I have deleted that original interpretation from that paper, and re-submitted it with only the results of Lothogam North site, where we have good excavation confirmation. Brenna will be presenting the results of this updated work in a poster session at the SAA meetings in San Francisco in April of 2026, and we will likely post a new article here once that work is completed.
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This is an interesting manuscript as GPR profiles revealed distinct reflections of different sedimentary and truncation boundaries. Additionally, amplitude slice maps showed clear low-amplitude reflections, which were also visible in the GPR profiles, representing the burial areas. However, I have a question about the second site, where the semi-circle reflections are located. Several point reflections are aligned like a linear reflection. I marked them in the figure below with black dashed lines. Do you think these reflections have a meaning? Are they human burials or just rock scatterings just below the earth’s surface? In conclusion, despite many written mistakes, this manuscript is very interesting but needs to be expanded and include more details.
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thank you Mohammed. I am always very reluctant to interpret amplitude maps that appear to “show lines” or have any other patterns that fit anything that I am familiar with. Who knows if they are burials? In my career I have done more than 250 cemetery surveys, and this has made me VERY relucant to call anything a burial without a good deal of evidence from the 2-D profiles!
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I made a mistake and posted the old version of this paper, which Mohammed commented on. Sorry! The new one is now posted, which takes out the Manamanya site, which we are revising.
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