The Tongoni Ruins (''Magofu ya kale ya Tongoni'' in
Swahili) are a 15th century
Swahili ruins of a mosque and forty tombs located in
Tongoni ward in
Tanga District
Tanga is one of eleven administrative districts of Tanga Region in Tanzania. The District covers an area of . Tanga district is bordered to the north by Mkinga District, to the east by the Indian Ocean, to the south and west by Muheza District. T ...
inside
Tanga Region
Tanga Region (''Mkoa wa Tanga'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Burundi. The regional capital is the mu ...
of
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
. The area was a different place four to five centuries ago. Contrary to its almost unnoticed presence today, it was a prosperous and a respected Swahili trading centre during the 15th century. Most of the ruins are still not yet been uncovered. The site is a registered
National Historic Site.
History
Tongoni was established around the tenth century by Swahili residents as part of the Swahili city states dotted along the East African coast.
Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese sailor, first visited Tongoni in April 1498. He had the opportunity to eat the local oranges, which he said were better than those available in Portugal. He made a second visit the following year, and spent fifteen days in Tongoni.
Management
The ruins at Tongoni are under the Tanzanian Antiquities department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. The ruins are open to the public but there have been no Phase III excavations. Decades ago, a small test excavation was conducted at the site and a site plan was drawn.
[https://www.maliasili.go.tz/uploads/Mafanikio_ktk_Idara_ya_Mambo_ya_Kale.pdf ]
See also
*
Historic Swahili Settlements
*
Swahili architecture
*
National Historic Sites in Tanzania
National Historic Sites of Tanzania is an official list of places in Tanzania that have been designated as National Historic Sites as per the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism of Tanzania under the Antiquities Division. The list is not co ...
References
National Historic Sites in Tanga Region
National Historic Sites in Tanzania
Buildings and structures in the Tanga Region
Tourist attractions in the Tanga Region
Swahili people
Swahili city-states
Swahili culture
Ruins in Tanzania
Archaeological sites in Tanzania
Archaeological sites of Eastern Africa
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