The so-called Galla graves in northern Somaliland

For more than a hundred years there has been I32 discussion of the significance and purpose of the stone cairns which are distributed all over Somaliland and which are so striking a feature of the landscape, especially in otherwise arid and desolate areas.' In this article, in which I discuss some former Somali burial practices and report the results of the excavation of three cairns in the British Protectorate, I argue that some at least of these tumuli are of fairly recent construction and contain
Somali remains. The cairns, which are mounds of stones, vary considerably in height from about six to i8 feet and in diameter
from 12 to 60 feet. There are two main series. The first, which refer to as Series A and which is the most common, consists of small rough cairns usually not more than eight feet in height. In these graves the outer walls form a circular chamber which contains the corpse and which is roofed over with wood and branches and finally covered with the stones which form the top of the mound (fig. 4).
The larger Series B mounds are more carefully and elaborately constructed and appear to consist entirely of stones without internal wooden supports.