Archaeologists have discovered more than 150 skeletons of African slaves at the site of an old rubbish dump in Lagos.
The skeletons were found at Valle da Gafaria, just outside the medieval walls of the city at a site used for burials between the 15th and 17th centuries.
The skeletons' ancestry was revealed through genetic analysis of the bones and dental formation that suggested the people were from southern Africa and of Bantu origin.
Remains of imported ceramics, animal bones, and African style ornaments also were found at the site.
Research conducted by Maria Teresa Ferreira, Catarina Coelho, and Sofia Wasterlain of the University of Coimbra, published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, looked at why the Africans were buried in a rubbish dump instead of a more fitting cemetery.
The site is one of the few designated African slave burial grounds and is the oldest one to be uncovered.
