Songo Mnara
Songo Mnara
Tanzania · Lindi
In brief
Songo Mnara is a well-preserved Swahili town in the Kilwa archipelago. The project has excavated stone houses, earth-and-timber structures, mosques, tombs and production areas.
What was found?
- 1Beadmaking workshop
A beadmaking workshop was uncovered in a wattle-and-daub building. The find shows that craft production existed in the city alongside trade.
- 2Glass beads
Chemical analysis of the beads identified different glass types and examples originating in China. According to researchers, some large beads decorated with colored glass may have been produced locally from imported glass.
- 3Copper coin assemblage
Kilwa-type copper coins were found in the foundations of a stone house. The presence of coins of earlier rulers in the same assemblage showed that some types remained in circulation for centuries.
- 4Ironworking area
Excavations were conducted in an ironworking area identified through geophysical survey. This area makes it possible to study the city's production activities alongside the distribution of residences and public spaces.
- 5Residences, mosques, and cemetery
Coral stone houses and wattle-and-daub dwellings were investigated. Together with mosques and cemeteries, these remains document the relationship between everyday life and religious spaces within the city.
What does it point to?
Songo Mnara reveals a Swahili city that combined Indian Ocean connections with local production. While mosques and cemeteries document Islamic life, researchers suggest that coins deposited in a house foundation may also exemplify the linking of economic value to a building and a place.
What did it teach us?
- It showed that beadmaking and ironworking activities existed in the city alongside trade.
- Glass analyses made it possible to distinguish materials from distant regions from possible local production.
- The coin assemblage revealed that older coin types could remain in circulation for long periods.
Images
Record
- Culture
- Swahili
- Team / historical
- Stephanie Wynne-Jones and Jeffrey Fleisher; University of York and Rice University
- Coordinates
- -9.0494°, 39.5672°
Sources
- whc.unesco.org
- york.ac.uk
- eprints.whiterose.ac.uk
- whc.unesco.org
- Smithsonian Libraries and Archives — sikke topluluğu araştırması
Nearby excavations
- Kilwa Kisiwani 11 km
- Historic Town and Archaeological Site of Gedi 640 km
- Olorgesailie Prehistoric Site 1,011 km
- Nyayanga 1,116 km
- Great Zimbabwe 1,554 km
- Danamombe 1,636 km
- —
- —
- 12.000
From beneath the soil: latest discoveries
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Arkeofili ↗ · Excavation notebook
All excavation sites (395)
Türkiye
- Acemhöyük
- Aizanoi
- Alabanda
- Alacahöyük
- Amos
- Ani
- Aphrodisias
- Arslantepe Mound
- Aspendos
- Assos
- Ayanis Fortress
- Aşıklı Höyük
- Barcın Höyük
- Blaundus
- Boncuklu Höyük
- Can Hasan I
- Carchemish
- Claros Sanctuary
- Clazomenae
- Domuztepe
- Ephesus
- Euromus
- Gordion
- Göbekli Tepe
- Hadrianopolis in Paphlagonia
- Hattusha
- Hierapolis
- Iasos
- Kaman-Kalehöyük
- Karahantepe
- Karatepe-Aslantaş
- Kaunos
- Kibyra
- Knidos
- Kültepe-Kanesh
- Laodicea on the Lycus
- Letoon Sanctuary
- Limyra
- Magnesia on the Maeander
- Medieval City of Beçin
- Metropolis in Ionia
- Miletus
- Myra
- Nemrut Dağ
- Nysa on the Maeander
- Olympus in Lycia
- Oymaağaç Höyük — Nerik
- Patara
- Pergamon
- Perge
- Phaselis
- Priene
- Sagalassos
- Sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma
- Sanctuary of Labraunda
- Sapinuwa
- Sardis
- Sayburç
- Side
- Stratonikeia
- Tell Atchana – Alalakh
- Teos
- Tripolis on the Meander
- Troy
- Uluburun Shipwreck
- Xanthos
- Yenikapı – Theodosian Harbour Excavations
- Yeşilova Höyük
- Yumuktepe
- Zerzevan Castle
- Zeugma
- Zincirli Höyük — Sam'al
- Çatalhöyük
- Çavuştepe Fortress
- Çayönü
- Çukuriçi Höyük
