From 8th century
Zanzibar Island, East African coast
Unguja Ukuu was an important early trading settlement on Zanzibar. Surface finds of ninth- to tenth-century Islamic pottery and a hoard of gold coins indicate substantial participation in Indian Ocean commerce. A gold dinar probably belonging to the hoard dates to the equivalent of AD 798/9, providing an early chronological marker for the settlement’s commercial significance.
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The Story
Unguja Ukuu was one of the trading settlements known on the East African coast during the ninth and tenth centuries. The site, located on Zanzibar Island, has not been archaeologically excavated, so its internal layout and buildings remain unknown. Nevertheless, surface evidence points to a settlement engaged in sustained exchange with the Islamic world.
A hoard of gold coins found approximately a century before the chapter was written was probably associated with the site. The quantity of imported pottery visible on the surface, particularly Islamic wares dating from the ninth and tenth centuries, reinforces the impression that Unguja Ukuu was an important commercial centre rather than an isolated coastal village.
One gold dinar likely belonging to the hoard bears a date equivalent to AD 798/9. This coin offers a precise early chronological indication, although the circumstances of the hoard’s discovery and its association with the settlement are not fully secure. Unguja Ukuu therefore provides evidence for the early integration of Zanzibar into western Indian Ocean trade.
From 8th century
Zanzibar Island, East African coast
Unguja Ukuu was an important early trading settlement on Zanzibar. Surface finds of ninth- to tenth-century Islamic pottery and a hoard of gold coins indicate substantial participation in Indian Ocean commerce. A gold dinar probably belonging to the hoard dates to the equivalent of AD 798/9, providing an early chronological marker for the settlement’s commercial significance.
Continue exploring
The Story
Unguja Ukuu was one of the trading settlements known on the East African coast during the ninth and tenth centuries. The site, located on Zanzibar Island, has not been archaeologically excavated, so its internal layout and buildings remain unknown. Nevertheless, surface evidence points to a settlement engaged in sustained exchange with the Islamic world.
A hoard of gold coins found approximately a century before the chapter was written was probably associated with the site. The quantity of imported pottery visible on the surface, particularly Islamic wares dating from the ninth and tenth centuries, reinforces the impression that Unguja Ukuu was an important commercial centre rather than an isolated coastal village.
One gold dinar likely belonging to the hoard bears a date equivalent to AD 798/9. This coin offers a precise early chronological indication, although the circumstances of the hoard’s discovery and its association with the settlement are not fully secure. Unguja Ukuu therefore provides evidence for the early integration of Zanzibar into western Indian Ocean trade.