Maritime archaeology of East Africa

While the use of ocean marine resources dates back to as early as 60 kya in South African sites such as Blombos Cave, and later along the east coast, the record for the use of nautical technologies is less known.

East Africa has had a long history of connections to the global marketplace, having been a direct part of the Silk Road and Maritime Indian Cotton and Spice Route as early as the 1st century AD.

[4] There exists to this day, what has been classified as a sea journal of a Roman pilot or merchant from the 1st century AD, this journal is called the Periplus Maris Erythraei, and it records the voyage of a Roman trade ship that sailed from the Red Sea south along the African coast to India.

[4] In the 1400s AD the East African coast encountered the trading fleets of China, led by Zheng He, the Chinese trader and servant of the Emperor.

With the rush for land, resources and power beginning in the late 15th century AD by Europe, encountering the rich coast of East Africa was a goldmine, both figuratively and literally as cities like Mogadishu in Somalia and Sofala in Mozambique being hubs for gold obtained from the interior of the continent.

Off Ras Ngomeni, Kenya, archaeologists discovered 16th century AD shipwreck which, along with certain artifacts found with the ship suggest European origins and Portuguese ownership.