Bottom layer of Kursakata mound dated by radiocarbon

A large mound at Kursakata, situated about 110 km northwest of Bama and about 24 km south of Lake Chad, had a depth of deposit of nearly 6 m. A test shaft was sunk from the highest point and the bottom layer yielded a radiocarbon date of 930 BC ±140. The lower levels produced pottery and animal figurines comparable to the earliest from Daima; no iron was found below a depth of 3 m.