Heritage Futures and Community Archaeology in Tanzania
The Kilwa Kisiwani site off the coast of Tanzania was
occupied from the 9th and was one of the most powerful settlements
along the Swahili Coast. From the 13th
to the 16th century, much of the trade in the Indian Ocean was handled by the merchants
of Kilwa, who dealt in gold, silver, pearls, perfumes, Arabian crockery,
Persian earthenware and Chinese porcelain. In 2004, the ruins were placed on
the List of World Heritage in Danger (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/144).
The Great Mosque of Kilwa Kisiwani is
the oldest standing mosque on this coast and the monuments are still in
everyday use today by both villagers and as one of the oldest Muslim schools in
East Africa. However, the pressure of daily use as well as the impacts of
climate change, manifest by sea-level rise and increased weathering and
vegetation growth, are threatening to severely degrade the heritage site.
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| Kilwa Kisiwani World Heritage Site |
The interdisciplinary ‘Safeguarding Heritage in Tanzania’
team from the University of St Andrews, comprising Dr Richard Bates, Donald
Herd and Dr Ted Pollard (Earth & Environmental Sciences), Elie Graham
(History), and Dr CJ Davies (Computer Science), together with colleagues from
the University of Dar es Salaam (Dr Elgidius B.
Ichumbaki), have recently returned from a highly successful field trip
to Kilwa Kisiwani, Southern Tanzania.
The team are investigating the Kilwa site using remote
sensing technologies and initiated a community-led programme for raising
awareness to the potential loss of both tangible and intangible heritage in the
area.
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| preparation of dGPS, and drone surveys, Kilwa |
Despite previous international aid programmes for protection of the
tangible heritage, often little is done for the local community. In March 2019,
the team hosted an education day, “Kilwa Bonanza”, with local schools, bringing
to the island over 150 primary and secondary pupils for tours of the site. Following the tours, the school groups were
joined by over 250 people from the local community to enjoy the benefits of
their heritage. Raising public awareness and the popularisation of the sites is
being aided by the use of contemporary performing arts (https://youtu.be/xaD93UJqfOg).
In addition to the community groups, the “Kilwa Bonanza” was
attended by local District Commissioner, representatives of the Department of
Antiquities, Dept of Tourism and local business. The Bonanza was catered for by a new start-up
venture, WAUMAKI (The Woman’s Culture, Buildings and Heritage Organisation in
Kilwa).
Kilwa was a site that is intimately associated with the sea,
with people relying on the sea for resources and, historically, for trade. The
nearshore coast also contains heritage in the form of submerged structures, due
to sea-level rise, and shipwrecks. As
part of their preservation training, the team taught the first Nautical
Archaeological Society underwater archaeology courses (Parts I & II) in
East Africa to a group of local divers from government agencies, university
departments and local tour companies. The
trained divers will provide a valuable resource for maritime archaeological
investigation in the future. Some stunning new finds from a possible 13th
century wreck near the old Omani port in Kilwa were recovered on the last day
of the training.
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| Pottery destined for curation at the National Museum |
Tanzania does not have a country-wide digital database for their
cultural heritage. The team met with the Director General of National Museums in
Dar es Salaam as the first step to working with them to produce this. A digital
record is seen as a vital resource for recording sites (such as those at
Olduvai Gorge where the Leakeys accomplished their ground-breaking work on
early hominins), managing sites, protecting them and creating a long-term
legacy for the country. It is hoped that the approach adopted by the project in
Kilwa, especially the inclusion of community outreach, will provide a
blue-print for other sites across Tanzania and Africa.
Following the signing of a joint MOU between St Andrews and
the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian staff will be visiting the
University of St Andrews in May to train on field and processing digital
techniques and to work on some joint Scottish-Tanzanian fusion of musical experiences in the promotion
of our joint heritage. For more on the project, see www.urithiwetu.org .
