Conservation, community archaeology, and archaeological mediation at Songo Mnara, Tanzania

Abstract

During archaeological fieldwork at Songo Mnara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the southern Tanzanian coast, a storm caused the collapse of a graveyard’s retaining wall. The process initiated by the rebuilding of that wall serves as a case study in addressing the dialogue among researchers, community members, and national and international organizations concerning heritage. During the process of rebuilding the wall, the Village Ruins Committee was called up by the Songo Mnara villagers as a community voice to speak with external stakeholders and to access perceived opportunities to work with UNESCO for financial reward. The committee led the rescue operation at the graveyard, yet was not always recognized as part of the process of conserving the site. In describing the tensions among the hierarchy of stakeholders at Songo Mnara, we explore the benefits and contradictions of international involvement with marginalized communities who might have multiple competing interests. Our study also speaks to good archaeological practice and the ways that we must seek to do community archaeology through recognizing the efforts of local groups who need to forge their own paths to collaboration. The case of Songo Mnara is an interesting example of how international heritage agendas, local historical memory and archaeological research can intersect to strengthen community ties to, and investment in, the monuments of the past.

Keywords:

• World Heritage
• community archaeology
• Swahili
• stonetown

Acknowledgments

The Village Ruins Committee of Songo Mnara and their Chairman, Mr. Ndowe, are owed the greatest thanks for their insights and their assistance with our work. We would also like to thank Stephen Battle of the World Monuments Fund, Pierre Blanchard, Donatius Kamamba of the Tanzanian Antiquities Division, and Mohammed Chidoli and Revocatus Bugumba of the Kilwa office. The British Institute in Eastern Africa and the Global Heritage Fund provided financial assistance for the meeting in Nairobi. We would also like to thank Meredith Chesson for encouraging us to write up these experiences for an American Anthropological Association conference session on community archaeology in 2010. Three reviewers provided helpful criticism and insight.

Stephanie Wynne-Jones (Ph.D. 2005, University of Cambridge) is Lecturer at the University of York. Her work focuses on the archaeology of the Swahili coast of East Africa and particularly on the role of material culture in that society. She is co-director of the Songo Mnara Urban Landscape Project, exploring the use of space at this 14th–16th century stonetown.

Jeffrey Fleisher (Ph.D. 2003, University of Virginia) is Associate Professor at Rice University, Houston, Texas. His research on the ancient Swahili has focused on the role of rural and non-elite people in the context of urban development and the use of material culture in the construction of power and authority. His current research at Songo Mnara focuses on the social uses of open space.