About
Ras Mkumbuu Ruins is a Zanzibar historic site associated with archaeological site, ruins.
Ras Mkumbuu Ruins sit on a long, narrow peninsula on the central west coast of Pemba island, near Ndagoni village in Chake Chake District. Archaeologists date occupation of the site to two main phases, roughly the 10th-12th and 14th-16th centuries CE, built over what may be older foundations, with the settlement abandoned by the 16th century. The ruins include a large mosque that was, for a period, the largest structure of its type in sub-Saharan Africa, along with numerous stone houses whose range of excavated materials points to a merchant town with broad Indian Ocean trade connections. The site was first excavated in the 1950s by archaeologist James Kirkman, who tentatively connected it to 'Qanbalu,' a place mentioned by the 10th-century Arab writer Al-Masudi, though he could not date any surviving remains earlier than the 13th century — so the Qanbalu identification remains debated among scholars. Ras Mkumbuu Ruins Historic Site is officially listed as a National Historic Site of Tanzania, currently classified as endangered, and is managed by the Antiquities Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism.
Categories
Discovery & Nature › Landmarks & Heritage Sites
Location
Ras Mkumbuu, Pemba Chake Chake Pemba South Tanzania
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