Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has cautioned the public against assuming that every pillar found in the bush along The Gambia-Senegal border is an original colonial boundary marker.
The clarification comes as The Gambia and Senegal continue their joint efforts to demarcate their shared border, an exercise that began on 15 August 2026.
The NCAC, led by its Director General, Hassoum Ceesay, is playing a key role in the exercise by providing historical and archival expertise.
Ceesay, a historian and documentalist, is supporting the demarcation team with archival materials, including historical maps and records, to help identify the original colonial boundary markers.
The Centre said its involvement is part of its broader mandate to use historical knowledge and cultural resources to support nation-building and preserve the country’s territorial heritage.
Distinctive Colonial Boundary Pillars
According to the NCAC, archival records show that 61 colonial boundary pillars were erected along the Gambia-Senegal border between 1904 and 1905 by the Anglo-French Boundary Commission.
The center said the original pillars share distinctive characteristics. They were constructed to the same dimensions using cement and stone, without iron reinforcement.
An undisturbed colonial boundary pillar, the NCAC explained, consists of a distinctive base, middle section, and cap, with the sections held together by stone joints.
The Centre therefore warned that other pillars found in the bush should not automatically be identified as colonial boundary markers.
It noted that geodetic pillars and district boundary pillars were also erected at later periods and may be found in areas close to the border.
A Joint Colonial Undertaking
The NCAC said its archival records further show that the original demarcation of the Gambia-Senegal boundary was itself a joint undertaking between British and French authorities.
The colonial demarcation was completed in June 1905, following an agreement signed at Kwinella in Kiang by Mr Cowie on behalf of Britain and M. Duchernam on behalf of France.
The Centre said the historical precedent is significant, as The Gambia and Senegal are once again working together to clarify and demarcate their common boundary.
From Demarcation to Densification
The NCAC also stressed that boundary demarcation is a collective and technical process that does not end with the identification of the original colonial pillars.
It is followed by what is known as densification, during which smaller boundary pillars are erected between the identified colonial markers.
The purpose of densification is to make the boundary line easier to identify and follow on the ground.
The NCAC said its archival work is therefore intended to assist the ongoing exercise by helping the authorities distinguish the original historical boundary markers from other pillars that may have been installed at different periods.
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