A Find of Transoceanic Pottery at Bwejuu Island of the Rufiji Delta and Mafia Island, Tanzania: More Clue to the Elusive Ancient Azania’s Metropolis of Rhapta

Mandela Peter Ryano,Felix Arkard Chami

doi:10.11648/j.ija.20210901.14

Mandela Peter Ryano, Felix Arkard Chami

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.20210901.14

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Abstract

The island of Bwejuu is one of the islands of the Mafia archipelago on the central coast of Tanzania. It is only 15 km off the Rufiji Delta and its inhabitants carry out cultivation activities on the delta. The Rufiji delta has been considered by several scholars to be the location of the elusive ancient Azania’s metropolis of Rhapta. Past research on the island established that it was of the 16th–18th centuries post-Swahili civilization. This research has verified that finding although underwater work on the south-east part discovered pottery attributed to ancient transoceanic activities, possibly arriving from either the Mediterranean region or probably Oman or Indian regions. Sites with trade remains from those regions have been discovered on the Delta and Mafia archipelago. Also, an underwater site with wall-like structures believed to be remains of a long-submerged ancient settlement has recently been found in the northwestern waters of Mafia Island. The site has drawn attention of some archaeologists who believe it could be the long-lost metropolis of Rhapta. The new findings from Bwejuu Island may suggest that there are several trading sites in the region of the Mafia archipelago and the Rufiji Delta as outskirts of a large settlement which could be Rhapta. This study collected data through archaeological surveys and test excavations. Data analysis involved pottery attribute analysis and metric dating by thermoluminescence method.

Highlights

This paper presents findings of a recent archaeological work conducted at Bwejuu Island on the Mafia archipelago on the Tanzanian central coast
Underwater survey on the south and south-east of the Island found good amount of pottery of transoceanic trade activities, some of which have been reported from other parts of the Mafia archipelago [6, 25, 19]
The pottery assemblage recovered in the present study includes potsherds that are attributable to the post-15th century CE or near modern periods

Summary

Introduction

This paper presents findings of a recent archaeological work conducted at Bwejuu Island on the Mafia archipelago on the Tanzanian central coast (figure 1). Chami’s work involved only survey through which pottery remains attributable to the post-Swahili period were found He was of the opinion that the occupation of the island could be traced back to the 1300 CE, during the heydays of the Swahili towns of Kisimani Mafia and Kua on Mafia Island and Juani Island respectively. There was a notable focus on the stone ruined sites of Kisimani Mafia on the Main Island and Kua on Juani Island which were thought to be the earliest settlements on the archipelago [13, 18]. The former stone town site, thought to be older than the latter, was excavated by Chittick in 1957 [13]. A number of sites of similar tradition were previously demonstrated on the opposite mainland coast [9] and inshore islands of Kwale and Koma [10]

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion