Shanga — Pate Island Early Swahili Town
Swahili earliest (8th–14th c CE)·Swahili (proto-Swahili)·🇰🇪 Lamu County, Kenya
About
About Shanga — Pate Island Early Swahili Town
Shanga — Pate Island Early Swahili Town in Lamu County, Kenya is a Swahili earliest (8th–14th c CE) ancient-city attributed to Swahili (proto-Swahili). Earliest Swahili town 15 ha with 8th c. timber mosque and 11th c. coral mosque. Horton Shanga: type-site for Swahili origins, 8th c. pole and mud mosque, 10th c. gold dinar.
Why it mattersImportant Swahili (proto-Swahili) site of coastal/hinterland Lamu County
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Trade network evidence
- 02Construction chronology
Theories
- 01Long-distance exchange
- 02Kayas sacred landscape
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 800 CE
- Period
- Swahili earliest (8th–14th c CE)
- Culture
- Swahili (proto-Swahili)
- Purpose
- Earliest Swahili town 15 ha with 8th c. timber mosque and 11th c. coral mosque
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 800 CE
Initial construction
c. 1920 CE
Antiquarian survey
On the ground
Structures & features
2.0500° S · 41.0500° E · 5 m · 3 mapped features
Shanga — Pate Island Early Swahili Town — Central Plaza
plazaPlaza
2.0498° S · 41.0501° EShanga — Pate Island Early Swahili Town — Stone House Cluster
houseHouses
2.0502° S · 41.0502° EShanga — Pate Island Early Swahili Town — Enclosure Wall
wallEnclosure
2.0496° S · 41.0498° E