VIIIᵉ siècle – Xᵉ siècle
Zanzibar, Tanzania
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Unguja Ukuu was an early settlement on Zanzibar associated with substantial participation in Indian Ocean commerce. Although the site has not been archaeologically investigated, surface finds of ninth- to tenth-century Islamic pottery and a hoard of gold coins indicate that it was an important place. One dinar probably belonging to the hoard dates to AD 798/9, providing a rare chronological marker for early Muslim activity on Zanzibar.
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Le récit
Unguja Ukuu was an early town on Zanzibar whose importance is inferred from surface archaeology and a reported coin hoard. The site itself had not been investigated, but Islamic pottery dating from the ninth to tenth centuries was visible on the surface. Together with the quantity of imported ceramics, the evidence points to a settlement integrated into wider maritime exchange.
A gold dinar probably associated with the hoard provides the clearest chronological indication. It is dated to the equivalent of AD 798/9 and was struck by the vizier of Harun al-Rashid. The coin does not by itself establish the complete political or religious character of the settlement, but it confirms the presence of valuable imported currency in Zanzibar’s early coastal milieu.
Unguja Ukuu later disappears from the archaeological sequence described in the passage. Other Zanzibar settlements, especially Kizimkazi and Tumbatu, became more visible in later evidence. The site therefore represents an early phase of Zanzibar’s participation in Muslim and Indian Ocean networks rather than a continuously documented urban centre.
VIIIᵉ siècle – Xᵉ siècle
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Unguja Ukuu was an early settlement on Zanzibar associated with substantial participation in Indian Ocean commerce. Although the site has not been archaeologically investigated, surface finds of ninth- to tenth-century Islamic pottery and a hoard of gold coins indicate that it was an important place. One dinar probably belonging to the hoard dates to AD 798/9, providing a rare chronological marker for early Muslim activity on Zanzibar.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Unguja Ukuu was an early town on Zanzibar whose importance is inferred from surface archaeology and a reported coin hoard. The site itself had not been investigated, but Islamic pottery dating from the ninth to tenth centuries was visible on the surface. Together with the quantity of imported ceramics, the evidence points to a settlement integrated into wider maritime exchange.
A gold dinar probably associated with the hoard provides the clearest chronological indication. It is dated to the equivalent of AD 798/9 and was struck by the vizier of Harun al-Rashid. The coin does not by itself establish the complete political or religious character of the settlement, but it confirms the presence of valuable imported currency in Zanzibar’s early coastal milieu.
Unguja Ukuu later disappears from the archaeological sequence described in the passage. Other Zanzibar settlements, especially Kizimkazi and Tumbatu, became more visible in later evidence. The site therefore represents an early phase of Zanzibar’s participation in Muslim and Indian Ocean networks rather than a continuously documented urban centre.