ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA—The National reports that traces of an eleventh-century settlement have been found in the courtyard of the Old Fort at Stone Town, which was thought to have been first established as a hub for Indian Ocean trade networks on the East African coast by Portuguese explorers and the Sultanate of Oman. The homes, cooking pits, and pottery were left behind by local Swahili people, who transitioned to the construction of stone buildings in the fourteenth century. “We can now say that the town was built centuries before the Omanis arrived,” said Tim Power of UAE University. Recent excavations have also uncovered a wall of a Portuguese church that had been demolished and integrated into the fort, and a carved stone block from a mosque that once stood on the site. To read about medieval trading centers along the East African coast, go to "Stone Towns of the Swahili Coast."
11th-Century Settlement Uncovered in Zanzibar’s Stone Town
News September 2, 2022
SHARE:
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries March/April 2023
Bird Brains
(Museo Arqueológico de Sevilla, REP25837)
Off the Grid January/February 2023
Tongobriga, Portugal
Off the Grid March/April 2022
Citânia de Briteiros, Portugal
(Jason Urbanus)
Digs & Discoveries May/June 2021
Ship of Ivory
(National Museum of Namibia, Windhoek)
-
Features July/August 2022
The Philistine Age
Archaeologists are reconsidering the origins and history of a much-maligned ancient people
-
Letter from Georgia July/August 2022
Soaring With Stone Eagles
A complex of Native American rock mounds bears witness to the endurance of ancient traditions
-
Artifacts July/August 2022
Nordic Ring Fragments
(Courtesy Marja Ahola) -
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2022
Save the Dates
(Bridgeman Images)