A site in Ghana whose extensive ruins have been identified as the capital of the 11th century. Excavations have revealed the presence of a stone-built mosque and two-story houses with storerooms. Pottery and glass indicate trans-Saharan trade with North Africa. It was the last of the capitals of ancient Ghana, a great trading empire that flourished in western Africa from the 9th through the 13th century. At the height of its prosperity, before 1240, was the greatest city of western Africa with a population of more than 15,000. Within its boundaries there were - as was the custom of the early kingdoms of the western Sudan - two cities, one of which was occupied by the king, the other by Muslim traders.