Historical Period Stone Anchors from Mombasa, Kenya: Evidence of Overseas Maritime Trade Contacts with Asia and Middle East

Year 2015, Volume: 2 Issue: 3, 15 - 26, 31.12.2015

Caesar Bita

https://doi.org/10.30897/ijegeo.303557

Cited By: 2

Abstract

One of the characteristics of the
East African Coast has been its accessibility. The sea has been a means of
contact with the outside world. Over the last 2000 years, there has been an
interpenetration of cultures to this region through trade consequently
assimilating this coast into the international economic system. Accessibility
from the land has made the East African coast historically an integral part of
Africa. This allowed movement of goods from inland to the coast and onward to
international markets. This coast has a trade advantage because the monsoon
winds and oceanic currents are reliable and permit rapid, seasonal navigation,
both along the coast of eastern Africa and across the Indian Ocean to western
and southern Asia. A number of scholars have discussed how the monsoon winds
and currents facilitated communication between various parts of the Western
Indian Ocean (WIO) seaboard and the Red sea, the Persian Gulf, and southeastern
Asia. These winds caused long distance seasonal sailing along the East African
coast and beyond to the rest of the ancient world. The islands of Comoros and
Madagascar were also part of the Western Indian Ocean seaboard cultural and
trade networks from very early times even before the BC/AD changeover. One of
the major ancient coastal cities that played a role in this transoceanic trade
is Mombasa in the Kenya coast. This paper explores these ancient trade contacts
which have been proven by historical period stone anchors discovered in
Mombasa, Kenya.

Keywords

Swahili Coast; East Africa; Mombasa

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