Songo Mnara

Songo Mnara Ruins
Inside the Main Building
TypeSettlement
LocationKilwa District, Lindi Region,  Tanzania
Coordinates9°2′58″S 39°34′2″E / 9.04944°S 39.56722°E / -9.04944; 39.56722
Built9th century
Architectural style(s)Swahili architecture
Governing bodyAntiquities Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism [1]
OwnerTanzania Government
Official nameRuins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara
TypeCultural
Criteriaiii
Designated1981 (5th session)
Reference no.144
UNESCO RegionAfrica
Endangered2004–2014[2]
Official nameSongo Mnara Ruins
TypeCultural
Songo Mnara is located in Tanzania
Songo Mnara
Location of Songo Mnara Ruins in Tanzania

Songo Mnara is a historic Swahiili settlement in located on Songo Mnara Island in Pande Mikoma, Kilwa District in Lindi Region of Tanzania. The island is home to a Medieval Swahili stone town. The stone town was occupied from the 14th to 16th centuries.[3] Songo Mnara has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with nearby stone town Kilwa Kisiwani.[4] In total, archaeologists have found six mosques, four cemeteries, and two dozen house blocks along with three enclosed open spaces on the island.[5] Songo Mnara was constructed from rough-coral and mortar.[6] This stonetown was built as one of many trade towns on the Indian Ocean.[4] The site is a registered National Historic Site.[7]

  1. ^ "Antiquities Division". Retrieved 21 Jul 2022.
  2. ^ Tanzania’s Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara removed from UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger at UNESCO website
  3. ^ Stoetzel, Jack (2011). "Field Report: Archaeological Survey of Songo Mnara Island". Nyame Akuma. 76: 9–14.
  4. ^ a b Welham, K.; Fleisher, J.; Cheetham, P.; Manley, H.; Steele, C.; Wynne-Jones, S. (2014). "Geophysical Survey in Sub-Saharan Africa: Magnetic and Electromagnetic Investigation of UNESCO World Heritage Site of Songo Mnara, Tanzania". Archaeological Prospection. 21 (4): 255–262. doi:10.1002/arp.1487. hdl:1911/97372. S2CID 56425826.
  5. ^ Fleisher, Jeffrey; Wynne-Jones, Stephanie (2012). "Finding Meaning in Ancient Swahili Spatial Practices". African Archaeological Review. 29 (2–3): 171–207. doi:10.1007/s10437-012-9121-0. S2CID 144615197.
  6. ^ Fleisher, Jeffery. "How Public Space is Used in Ancient Cities: The Case of Songo Mnara, a Medieval Swahili City in Tanzania" (PDF). Retrieved 20 October 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ "Antiquities Sites" (PDF). Retrieved 21 Jul 2022.

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