Begon II is an historic metallurgical site in a remote valley in southern Chad. It is about 30 miles from the nearest town, Bessao.
This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on July 21, 2005 in the Cultural category.
People mined the valley for iron between the 9th and 11th centuries and used the metal to make coins, weapons and agricultural tools. An industrial furnace and over 50 ovens remain, along with the trees that were their source for the charcoal needed for smelting.
traveltips.usatoday.com/historical-landmarks-chad-africa
Remains of an iron-working furnace near Bessao, Chad
–bowdoin.edu/faculty/s/smaceach/chad
–archaeological research for the Chad Export Project … – Academia.edu
–whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists
Chad, a landlocked country in Central Africa, has been populated since prehistoric times yet may be unfamiliar to even the most adventurous world travelers. The country is over three times the size of California, with landscapes transitioning from the Sahara desert in the north to an arid central region and tropical lowlands in the south. Chad’s history is marked by the invasion of slave traders from the north, dominion by France as a colony by 1913 before independence in 1960. Interesting relics of the nation’s past remain scattered throughout the country.
Chad History
The region of present-day Chad had been inhabited for more than 2000 years by sedentary and agricultural people before the first known civilization established settlements.
The earliest civilization was that of the Sao, who were known for their artifacts and great oral histories. The Sao were conquered by the Kanem civilization, who accumulated wealth by controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed in the region. The Kanem Empire was the first and the longest empire in Chad, lasting until the Europeans started to arrive.
France: invaded the region in the early 1900’s and in 1920, they gained full control of the colony. They incorporated Chad into the French Equatorial Africa. For many years, Chad was considered to be unimportant by the French and there was very little development.
Official Language: French, Arabic
Chad is home to Lake Chad – one of the largest lakes in the world. It is also bordered by Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon. It’s a great place to spot African wildlife such as hippos, waterfowls, and crocodiles. The nearby town of Bol has its own airstrip and camping areas are found here to cater to tourists.
Geography
Chad is a landlocked country located in North Central Africa. Its borders include Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, and Niger and Nigeria to the west.
The country’s land area is divided into 4 bioclimate zones: the northern land area of the country consists of more than half of the total area, and it’s called the Saharan zone for consisting a large part of the Saharan desert. The central zone is characterized by open savanna with moderate vegetation. The southern zone or Sudanian zone consists of woodland savanna, and the Guinea zone receives the most amount of rainfall in the entire country.
The neighboring countries of Chad are:
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Libya
Niger
Nigeria
Sudan