The site

Kilwa Kisiwani is a Swahili settlement on an island off the coast of Tanzania, occupied from around 800 to 1500 CE. Built up from roughly 900 CE, it grew into a coral-stone trading town linked to the commerce of the Indian Ocean. Its ruins are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, standing as a monument to the Swahili coast's medieval maritime world.

Field notes

civilizations

Swahili

types

Village

built

900 CE

occupied

800 CE — 1,500 CE

country

Tanzania