The hidden secrets of sixty remarkable clay figurines, thought to be up to 1,400-years-old, are to be revealed at an exhibition starting this week in Manchester.

The objects excavated by archeologists from the universities of Manchester and Ghana, will take pride of place at the Manchester Museum, the first time they will be seen publicly outside Ghana.

The figurines, including two-headed humans, a chameleon, a crocodile and a man on horseback, are thought by the team to have been used to invoke the help of ancestors to cure illnesses.

Using computed tomography scanning techniques at The University of Manchester, the team revealed hidden channels within the objects which they think had a medicinal function, used for liquid ritual offerings.

Koma-2-c-Alan-Seabright Koma-3-c-Alan-Seabright

The figurines show people with congenital conditions including anencephaly – which still affects children in Africa today.Others depict costumes, ornaments and weapons that were worn and used, as well as animals that had symbolic roles.

Some figurines in the collection were also possibly ‘scapegoats’, intended as the focus or recipient of disease and misfortune rather than their human keepers.

The figurines were found in a village called Yikpabongo in Koma Land in the north of Ghana. They come from two mounds thought to be used as a shrine by the makers of the objects.

Because the figurines are highly sought after in the art market, some mounds in the region have been illegally excavated.
They have been added to the International Council of Museums Red List, a register of archaeological material at risk.

Photo Images Courtesy of Alan Seabright

 

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