UAE-led project makes breakthrough discovery at famed Stone Town in Zanzibar

A UAE-led heritage project is revealing ZanzibarStone Town.

Archaeologists find evidence of primitive settlements UNESCO world heritage site in Tanzania This goes back to the 11th century.

It’s a testament to the town – previously thought to be an 18th century Oman Archaeologists believe that the Arabian town was actually founded earlier by the local Swahili people.

During a major excavation this summer, they found traces of this era’s homes, cooking pits and extensive pottery.

They were then able to identify the settlement’s transition to stone buildings by the 14th century.

These stone houses gave a unique look to the trading centres on the East African coast, from which they eventually got their name.

Stone City became the powerful capital of Oman’s Arab Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, and many major buildings were built around this time.

But the UAE-funded work shows that trading hubs are developing much earlier than previously thought.

“Our excavations uncovered house walls and stone structures and established that it was urbanised at a much earlier period than historically thought,” said Professor Tim Bauer from Emirates University.

“We can now say that this town was built centuries before the arrival of the Omanis.”

The project, which started this year, is the result of the UAE University, NYU Abu Dhabii, Royal Agricultural University and Zanzibar Department of Antiquities.

Archaeologists from the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and students from Zanzibar State University have also volunteered for the project.

The old fort in Stone Town was built in the Oman era and was the focus of the excavations.This fort can rival that of Abu Dhabi Qasr Al HosnProfessor Ball said, because it was the link between military and political power and also served as a customs office.

Cans from a test pit excavated in the 1980s suggest this, but Professor Ball said it could be described as a background noise.Another excavation, led by Professor Ball in 2017, also came to fruition promising results.

This year, two trenches up to two meters deep were dug in the courtyard of the fort, and rubbish pits, cooking utensils, walls, floors, remnants of a Portuguese church, plenty of pottery, and even evidence of a mosque were discovered – structures showing human Strengthening of the living environment.

The teams were able to date the fragments by comparing the types of pottery unearthed with those found in other excavations.

“We found a lot of imported pottery, especially from China,” said Nour Al Marzooqi, an archaeologist at the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, who worked at the site this summer.

“This is similar to what we found in the UAE,” Ms Al Marzooqi said. “But we also found local Swahili pottery, such as cookware.”

Archaeologists stumbled across a carved block from a mosque that once existed at the site but has yet to be discovered. The project also uncovered the walls of a Portuguese church that had been demolished and incorporated into the fort.

Archaeologists have discovered dozens of Christian tombs in the base of the church and under the floor, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Augustinian mission was stationed on the site.

“These excavations go back in time in a focused way,” said Professor Robert Pattius, director of NYU’s Dakira Heritage Research Center, which funded the project.

“And the ceramics found are from many different periods. It gives us insight into all those centuries, and we’re now in the 11th century.”

Stone Town started as a small fishing village but has grown rapidly with the support of a trading network across the Indian Ocean​​.

It has Portuguese, Omani and European influences, but always retains its Swahili identity. It was the capital of the Oman Arab Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries and became very rich.

“It’s like the Venice of East Africa,” Professor Ball said. “Ivory, ebony and slaves were traded heavily. Omani Arabs also developed clove plantations and became the world’s leading suppliers of cloves.

“This prosperity is reflected in the architecture,” Professor Ball said. “There are beautiful shops with carved doors and bricks. They are absolutely gorgeous.”

The project explores the town’s cosmopolitan and multifaceted history and how it fits into the intricate and dynamic trade network that spanned the Indian Ocean and into the Gulf over the centuries since its founding.​​​

Gulf to Zanzibar trade

For example, are Chinese pottery shipped directly to Stone Town or through an intermediary?

Much of the trade was carried out on dhows sailing from the Gulf to Zanzibar, and the relationship was important. Stone Town is a market for Arab goods such as dates and a source of labor.

Despite the many different races and differences, there are also common cultures and ways of life.

“This project brought life to the Indian Ocean during the golden age of Islam,” Professor Ball said, “referring to the period between the eighth and 14th centuries when cultural, economic and scientific development flourished.

“This is a place where people do amazing things. European colonialism divided these regions into different territories, and postcolonial movements and ethno-nationalism masked this character of diversity and scope. But at this time throughout the Indian Ocean there were common culture.”

Zanzibar Tourism and Heritage Minister Sime Said visited the excavation site in the summer and said it was an “exciting new discovery” for the archipelago.

“We are delighted to host an archaeological project funded by the UAE,” he said. “This will help us in our mission to communicate the island’s rich heritage and culture to tourists and locals alike.”

This work will continue in January when further expeditions are planned. It is also hoped that a museum will be established at the site to showcase some of the excavations’ findings to the public.

“This initiative is not only important for understanding Indian Ocean trade networks, but also useful for people living in Stone Town,” said Professor Pattius, whose work at the centre aims to build partnerships with local heritage organisations.

“Our work is about bridging the divide. We want to make sure people don’t feel like we’re here to teach them. By working together, more people can be trained in archaeology and we can learn from each other.”

Updated: September 1, 2022 at 10:11 am