The Indian Ocean - The Spice Islands - Ras Kisimani
Locations
The Indian Ocean - coastal waters
Location map
Introduction
The tropical Indian Ocean is home to the Spice Islands. Characterised by beautiful sandy beaches, fringing coral reefs and coastal mangrove forests, this is a vibrant nursery area for marine life, such as whale sharks, crabs, seahorses and a great variety of fish. The coastal areas are where humans have the most direct impact on the ocean's resources.
Ras Kisimani
Overview
In 1872 a tropical cyclone hit the village of Ras Kisimani on the west coast of Mafia. It devastated a settlement that was once a vital hub in the trade between Africa and Arabia dating back at least 600 years. Much of the debris was washed out to sea and although the site on land has been excavated, the underwater remains have never been studied.
The sea floor is littered with huge amounts of material, covering a wide area. Numerous artefacts can be found among the rubble including pottery from 15th century Persia with distinctive foliage and glaze. There is also celadon ware that dates from around the 14th century and originated in south east Asia or China. These discoveries testify to the importance of this area as a trading route.
| Importance: | The wealth and condition of archaeological remains is an important indicator of trading activity over many centuries. People living in this region used monsoon winds to transport ivory, slaves and spices. |
| Dive category: | Mafia Island is a Marine Park and several companies offer snorkelling and scuba diving activities. |
| Access: | Only the trained eye will fully appreciate the significance of pottery finds on the sea bed. Their exact position is also important and artefacts should not be removed. |
Interesting for
- An introduction and overview of Mafia Island
- This travel guide website provides historical perspective
- Islands in the sun
- The study of human's interaction with the sea
- Wikipedia's introduction to this discipline
- Maritime archeology
BBC related content
- Oceans presenter biography: Lucy Blue
- Oceans ultimate dives: Lucy Blue's history dive
- Oceans image gallery: The Indian Ocean - coastal waters
- BBC History: An introduction to marine archeology
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