ABSTRACT
Simkin and Siebert (1994) note that West Africa is the only region other than the Mediterranean with a reliably dated eruption from ancient times, at Mt Cameroon, observed by a passing Carthaginian navigator in the 5th century BC. In the East written records only appear to have been kept or geological analysis carried out after the 15th century AD however, after the Portuguese exploration of Africa had begun, although there is undoubtedly material in earlier Arab and Chinese records that has not yet been published. In the next 370 years another 20 or so eruptions were recorded by European sources, but even this work did not really get underway until after 1870.
