Complex sentence: Loropéni is the best preserved example of a type of fortified settlement in a wide part of West Africa, linked to the tradition of gold mining, which seems to have persisted through at least seven centuries.
Split into simpler sentences: Loropéni is the best preserved example of a type of fortified settlement found across a wide part of West Africa. These settlements are linked to the tradition of gold mining, which seems to have persisted through at least seven centuries.