Djenné-Djenno (Old Djenné) is the archaeological mound about three kilometres south-east of the modern town, marking the location of an even older city that flourished from around 250 BCE until it was abandoned in the 13th century. Excavations led by Roderick and Susan McIntosh in the 1970s and 1980s uncovered evidence of iron production, terracotta sculpture, and dense urban settlement — pushing the date of urbanism in West Africa back by more than a thousand years and forcing a rewrite of the region's history.
The site itself is a low mound covered in potsherds rather than a visible ruin — there are no standing walls and the visit is brief. What makes it worth the short trip is the context: this is where one of Africa's first cities stood, on a strategic spur in the floodplain where the Niger and Bani rivers meet. A guide from Djenné can take you out by donkey cart or on foot. The terracotta horsemen and figurines unearthed here are among the finest pre-Islamic artworks of West Africa and can be seen in the National Museum in Bamako.