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UW-L archaeologist discusses 5,000-year-old wonder

Posted 11:46 a.m. Friday, Sept. 5, 2014

UW-L's Katherine Grillo gives a free public lecture about the mystery behind great stone structures that have intrigued archaeologists for decades.

[caption id="attachment_36049" align="alignright" width="300"]Image of Katherine Grillo sitting at an excavation site. Katherine Grillo, UW-L assistant professor of Sociology/Archaeology[/caption] Great stone structures created about 5,000 years ago in northwest Kenya have intrigued archaeologists for decades. Today the mystery behind these “pillar sites” is being unraveled. Katherine Grillo, UW-L assistant professor of Sociology/Archaeology, will give a free public lecture about what researchers are uncovering in eastern Africa at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, at Port O’ Call, Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition. [caption id="attachment_36052" align="alignright" width="300"]Image of a large stone structure amid a desert area. pillar site[/caption] The first group of cattle herders in eastern Africa moved into the Turkana Basin of northwestern Kenya and built large megalithic "pillar sites" at several places surrounding Lake Turkana about 5,000 years ago. New excavations reveal that many of these sites were large communal cemeteries. Grillo will discuss what’s been found and conclude with a discussion about the enduring legacy of the pillar-site builders.

If you go —

What: Public lecture “Megalithic Cemeteries of the Turkana Basin” When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16 Where: Port O'Call, Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition, UW-L. Admission: Free

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