20 · TREASURE · 9th–11th centuries CE

Moulds for gold

Fragments of moulds for gold from Tadmekka

Traces of gold in the moulds help reconstruct how this metal was processed at Tadmekka.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

Visual proposal for Fragments of gold moulds from Tadmekka, Essouk-Tadmekka, northern Mali — **EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS**
Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence
Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.

History and context

Terracotta moulds with residues, together with archaeological experiments, provide evidence for the purification and shaping of high-purity gold pieces.

They provide material evidence of gold processing at a trans-Saharan node, possibly into uninscribed pieces used in exchange. Limitation: the resulting gold piece does not survive, and Tadmekka should not automatically be presented as a city of the Mali Empire.

Evidence and interpretation

ARQ. Terracotta moulds with residues, together with archaeological experiments, provide evidence for the purification and shaping of high-purity gold pieces. What this does not establish: the resulting gold piece does not survive, and Tadmekka should not automatically be presented as a city of the Mali Empire.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date: 9th–11th centuries CE
Location: Essouk-Tadmekka, northern Mali
Material: archaeometallurgical object
Context: Bamako, Mali, according to the institutional publication. Custody: Institut des Sciences Humaines, Bamako, according to the Caravans of Gold guide; reconfirm the inventory and conditions.
Curatorial reading: The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Dossier axis: trade
Research record: MANDE · EVI-06
Documentary coverage: 2 museum, heritage, primary corpus or research sources for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

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9th–11th centuries CE

Moulds for gold

Mande Worlds

Date range of the archaeometallurgical material in its documented context.

Current record

Moulds1 dated object

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9th–11th centuries CE
Moulds for gold
Mande Worlds
Date range of the archaeometallurgical material in its documented context.
Current record

1 / 1In the centre: Moulds for gold

Also connected, without a comparable date (2)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

Piece-mold castingAncient China · c. 1600–1046 BCE
The workshop inside the ditchYayoi Japan · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi

You can scroll the first group without JavaScript. The other topics are also available below.

Gold

The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
The goat from PG 1237 · ca. 2600–2400 BCE · Sumer
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Stag Vessel · 14th–13th centuries BCE · Hittites
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Before the Iberias · Final Bronze, c. 1000 BCE · Iberians
Tomb 1 at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Kushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Gold at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800–550 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Regolini-Galassi tomb · ca. 675–650 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Condomina Earring · 6th century BCE · Iberians
Uni was also Astarte · Towards 510 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Ezerovo Ring · 5th century BCE · chronology discussed in the bibliography · Thracians
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
A battle on a comb · Early 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
The Kul-Oba vase · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
The archer in gold · Type introduced from the late 6th century; specimen from the 4th century BCE. · Achaemenid Persia
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Thoth in the form of a baboon · 664–30 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Faces of the Steppe · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Scythians and Saka
Poroina Mare Rhyton · Second half of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
Treasure of Cheste · Jewellery from the 4th–3rd centuries BCE; concealment at the end of the 3rd century BCE. · Iberians
Marina Alta Hoard · Jewellery: 5th–2nd centuries BCE; concealment probably around 80–73 BCE. · Iberians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians
Mairena Hoard · 3rd century BCE · Iberians
Patera from Perotito · Second half of the 2nd–beginnings of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds — You are viewing
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Metalworking

The Gold of Varna · Towards 4600–4200 BCE · Thracians
Before Phoenicia · 20th–18th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Valchitran · second half of the 14th century–beginning of the 13th century BCE, according to NAIM; other publications use wider intervals from the Late Bronze. · Thracians
Gold at Kuntur Wasi · c. 800–550 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Condomina Earring · 6th century BCE · Iberians
Bow and arrows in a case · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
Coțofenești helmet · Second half of the 5th century – beginning of the 4th century BCE · Thracians
The Solokha gold comb · 4th century BCE · Greek worlds
Treasure of Jávea · 4th century BCE · Iberians
Falcata from Almedinilla · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Marina Alta Hoard · Jewellery: 5th–2nd centuries BCE; concealment probably around 80–73 BCE. · Iberians
Panagyurishte · late 4th century – early 3rd century BCE, towards 300 BCE · Thracians
The Shield that Did Not Fight · Around 350–50 BCE · Celtic worlds
Simancas-type belt buckle · Second half of the IV century–V century CE · Iberians
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds — You are viewing
Gold rhinoceros · ca. 1220–1290; found in 1933 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Copper and stone · ca. 3100–2700 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Early metallurgy · c. 1900–1500 BCE · Ancient China
Four panoplies · No individual dating published on this record · Iberians
Iron changes the frontier · 3rd–2nd centuries BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Piece-mold casting · c. 1600–1046 BCE · Ancient China
The workshop inside the ditch · 4th century BCE–3rd century CE, peak in Middle and Late Yayoi · Yayoi Japan
Weapons under the Lake · Mainly 3rd–1st centuries BCE · Celtic worlds

Exchange and trade

Weights · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Before the Hittites · c. 19th century BCE · Hittites
Kerma vessel · c. 1802–1640 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Ivory in Nimrud · 9th–8th centuries BCE · Phoenicians
Motagua jade · c. 900–600 BCE · Maya worlds
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
The so-called ‘Priest of Cádiz’ · 7th century BCE · Iberians
The Gallery of the Conch Shells · Main use c. 800–500 BCE · Pre-Inca cultures
Mazarrón 1 · Second half of the 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
Mazarrón 2 · Second half of the 7th century BCE · Phoenicians
Ivory with names · End of the 7th century–first half of the 6th century BCE · Phoenicians
The inscription of Pistiros · 4th century BCE · Thracians
Yan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Ancient China
Lead tablet · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
A coin with the memory of a blade · 323–222 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
Ceramics that continued · Last third of the 2nd century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
Roman glass oinochoe · Late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE · Etruscans and Rome
Moulds for gold · 9th–11th centuries CE · Mande Worlds — You are viewing
Missing grave goods · 13th–15th centuries according to the heritage overview · Bantu-speaking worlds
Catalan Atlas · after 1375 and before November 1380 · Mande Worlds
Kilwa coin · 1482–1493 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

A Kerma vessel deposited at Abydos · Second Intermediate Period · Ancient Egypt
Akrotiri · c. 1700–1500 BCE · Greek worlds
Clicks and contact · precolonial contacts with varying chronologies and subsequent continuity · Bantu-speaking worlds
Dia’s strata · 9th century BCE–2nd millennium CE · Mande Worlds
Indian Ocean Kiswahili · from the first millennium CE; major development in medieval and modern times · Bantu-speaking worlds
Jenne-jeno contexts · ca. 250 BCE–1400 CE · Mande Worlds
Kumbi Saleh · medieval occupation; prominent phases between the 11th and 13th centuries · Mande Worlds
Lothal · ca. 2400–1600 BCE · Indus civilisation
Meluhha · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Nile towards Nubia · ca. 3300–2800 BCE · Ancient Egypt
The Banquet of Seuthes II · Towards 400 BCE. Anabasis episode · Thracians
Travelling objects · Mainly Roman period · Garamantes

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 5, 2026.

Testing the process

To test the refining hypothesis, researchers from Northwestern mixed gold powder, Lake Michigan sand and recycled glass. When heated, the molten glass retained impurities while the gold formed a separate small mass. They also reproduced the moulds with impression-like cavities, but poured bronze to avoid the cost of gold. These are two distinct experiments: one examines purification and another the ability to mould pieces. Experimental success demonstrates that the proposed procedure works, although it does not by itself recover all the steps carried out in Tadmekka.

Research · Northwestern University · Scientists prove gold purifying process used in medieval West Africa works, Megan Fellman (2019)Access recorded: September 5, 2026.

Where it is held

Institut des Sciences Humaines · Bamako

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The institutional exhibition ‘Caravans of Gold’ documents finds from Essouk-Tadmekka and collaboration with the Institut des Sciences Humaines; the inventory must be reconfirmed before any loan or reproduction.

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

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