Old Tuareg Lock – Mali/Niger

The lock (iron, brass, copper and silver decorations) is cm. 14,0 long x cm 6,0 width (5.51″ x 2.36″).

The key (brass sheet on iron) is cm. 14,1 long (5.55″); gr. 301,3 (10.62 oz).

The Tuareg people inhabit a large area, covering almost all the middle and western Sahara and the north-central Sahel. They are probably descended from the ancient Libyan people of the kingdom of the Garamantes, described by Herodotus. Tuareg are mostly nomads. For over two millennia, the Tuareg operated the trans-Saharan caravan trade connecting the great cities on the southern edge of the Sahara via five desert trade routes to the northern coast of Africa (Mediterranean).