Olumo Rock

Olumo Rock is a mountain rising 137 meters above sea level in the heart of Abeokuta, in Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria, a city whose own name means under the rock in the Yoruba language. The rock served as a natural fortress for the Egba people during nineteenth century inter-tribal warfare, and the city of Abeokuta grew up around it as a place of sanctuary and strategic advantage. Its name combines the Yoruba words olu, meaning god or deity, and mo, meaning moulded, reflecting the rock's standing as an orisha in Yoruba religion. The site has also yielded stone tools, including hand axes and hammerstones dated to roughly 1.5 million years old, making it an important paleontological and archaeological location as well as one of Nigeria's most visited tourist destinations.