Mbutu Bandarini Ruins() is a Medieval
Swahili,
National Historic Site located in
Somangila
Somangila (''Kata ya Somangila'', in Swahili) is an administrative ward and district capital of the Kigamboni District of the Dar es Salaam Region in Tanzania. The Indian Ocean borders the ward to the north, Kimbiji to the south and Kisarawe ...
ward of
Kigamboni District in
Dar es Salaam Region
Dar es Salaam Region () is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions and is located on the east coast of the country. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land and water areas of the nation state of Ma ...
of
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
. Despite years of indifference that led to vandalism of the site, the Tanzanian government has contracted a firm to begin repair operations as soon as feasible.
Site
The site is situated near the Bandarini River delta, close to the seashore, about 2.5 km east of the settlement of Mwongozo in Somangila ward. The site featuring ruined buildings and a mosque's ruins in stones. There is a graveyard and an old well close to the mosque. The mosque at the location is thought to have been constructed during the 14th and 15th centuries A.D. On the surface of the site, there are significant concentrations of
native
Native may refer to:
People
* '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood
* '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Nat ...
pottery. Chinese
celadon
Celadon () is a term for pottery denoting both wares ceramic glaze, glazed in the jade green Shades of green#Celadon, celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware" (the term specialists now tend to use), and a type of transparent glaze, ...
from the 15th century, Chinese blue on white, and European porcelain from the 18th century are among the imports found at the location. Heavy layers of indigenous pottery between 0 and 60 cm below the surface were found in a test pit.
See also
*
Historic Swahili Settlements
*
Kaole
*
Kunduchi Ruins
*
Msuka Mjini Ruins
*
Kichokochwe Ruins
*
Pujini Ruins
*
Kimbiji Ruins
References
Kigamboni District
National Historic Sites in Tanzania
Swahili city-states
Archaeological sites in Tanzania
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