ABSTRACT
Early writings by westerners about Djenn's archaeology include a book written by Lieutenant Louis Desplagnes entitled Le Plateau Central Nigrien. Lieutenant Desplagnes spent two years in the French Sudan examining archaeological material as well as architecture. Like the colonial administrators and early French explorers before it, UNESCOs concentration on the archaeology and architecture of Djenn has led to a distinctive way of apprehending the town, prioritising the material over the immaterial in an effort at stabilisation. The abandonment of the site at Djenn-Djeno around 1400 CE and move to the present-day town of Djenn is considered by the McIntoshes to have been caused by the gradual Islamification of the population. In 2009 a European-funded museum was finally built in the centre of Djenn, with an opening ceremony planned for January of 2010. Maas and Mommersteegs thorough survey of Djenn's architecture categorises houses into those with interior courtyards and those built around an enclosure.
