Site des hommes à queue, Archaeological site in Dogbo-Tota, Benin.
Site des hommes à queue is an archaeological site in Dogbo, Couffo department, 136 km northwest of Cotonou. It consists of fields and fallow land dotted with interconnected holes and tunnels; the galleries total about 30 km and measure 1 to 2.5 m in diameter. The site, also called Gounoudoudji, was discovered in November 1998.
The galleries at Dogbo were used for iron mining between the 9th and 15th centuries. Iron presence, shown by the red colour of the rock, encouraged some migrants moving west from present-day Nigeria towards today's Ghana to settle in the area. Because the deposits lay 2 to 3 metres deep, digging tunnels was necessary. A Danish archaeological mission took charge of excavations from 2001.
Local stories describe mysterious craftspeople who came to markets in the early morning to sell their wares while hiding something from view. These tales continue to shape how people think and speak about this place today.
Visitors should prepare for uneven ground and tight access points, as the underground areas have limited openings and are sometimes difficult to reach. A visit is best during drier months, as rain can make conditions at the site more challenging.
Villagers in Dogbo only entered the galleries themselves in 2012, led by their mayor, after first being surprised by scientists' interest in their subsoil. The tunnels had long served hunters as shelters. The site, called Gounoudoudji, was found in November 1998, after a Danish public works company chanced upon the Agongointo-Zoungoudo underground village that February.
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