Marine Shell Working at Harlaa, Ethiopia, and the Implications for Red Sea Trade

Timothy Insoll

doi:10.1163/21915784-20210001

Abstract

Abstract Twelve species of marine shell were transported in significant quantities from the Red Sea to the trade centre of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia between the eleventh and early fifteenth centuries AD. Initially, it was thought that species such as the cowries were imported from the Indian Ocean. Subsequent research has found that all were available from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, c. 120 km east of Harlaa. This suggests that a hitherto largely unrecognised source of marine shells was available, and the Red Sea might have supplied not only the Horn of Africa, but other markets, potentially including Egypt, and from there, elsewhere in North Africa and ultimately West Africa via trans-Saharan routes, as well as Nubia and further south on the Nile in the Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Arabian/Persian Gulf. This is explored with reference to the shell assemblage from Harlaa, and selected shell assemblages from elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, and trading centres on the Red Sea.

Highlights

Significant quantities of marine shell were transported from the Red Sea to the trade centre of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia between the eleventh and early fifteenth centuries
Subsequent indications are that these cowries, and the other ten species found were all available from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, c. 120 km east of Harlaa. This suggests that a hitherto largely unrecognised source of marine shells was available, and the Red Sea might have supplied the Horn of Africa, but other markets, potentially including Egypt, and from there, elsewhere in North Africa and West Africa via trans-Saharan routes, as well as Nubia and further south on the Nile in the Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Arabian/Persian Gulf
The indications that all the marine shell from Harlaa is of Red Sea origin suggests that a hitherto largely unrecognised source of supply existed in the medieval period

Summary

Introduction

Significant quantities of marine shell were transported from the Red Sea to the trade centre of Harlaa in eastern Ethiopia between the eleventh and early fifteenth centuries (all dates are AD unless otherwise specified). (13) Conus erythraeensis with apex removed and surface beneath ground flat (HAR19-F-9) photos by the author fragments (36 examples; Fig. 4.10), with this process represented by more complete shells with sections cut from them (six examples) or cut into half (one example).

Results

Conclusion