Shanga is an archaeological site located in Pate Island off the eastern coast of Africa.
The archaeological evidence in the form of coins, pottery, glass and beads all suggest that a Swahili community inhabited the area during the eighth century.
It is stated that Sulaiman married the daughter of the king of Pate, thus giving him authority to rule over part of the island.
[2] The Swahili community in Shanga continued to thrive there for 600 years until their disappearance in the early fifteenth century.
Horton mentions that it was Captain Chauncey Stigand who noticed Shanga's ruins on Pate Island.
According to Horton, the Washanga (people of Shanga) still remain, although they now live in Siyu, a neighboring Swahili town.
Horton speculates that the community could have deserted the area for political reasons although it was more than likely due to a decline in water supply.
Dr. T. Wilson from the National Museums of Kenya extracted pottery samples and wrote a report on the fabrics found in Shanga in 1978.
[1] Excavation procedures involved the definition of contexts (or layers), and their removal in reverse stratigraphic order.
These were associated groups of contexts which were broadly defined as the visible surfaces and buildings at a hypothetical span of time.
Each phase contributed about 120 mm of deposit, largely made up by the debris of collapsed walls and midden deposits.In order to create a chronological framework, as well as measure the depth of deposit in the site, several test pits were dug around the north–south and east–west axes.
The test pits gave archeologists an understanding of Shanga's development and patterns of occupation.
Results from the test pits indicate that there was a concentration of occupation towards the center of the site in between two dune ranges.
The community that occupied Shanga in the past settled in the areas that showed promising water supply.
Horton points out that Shanga pottery dating has been extensively examined by archaeologists Neville Chittick, James Kirkman and Richard Wilding.
In addition to these buildings, there are also piles of stone rubble that suggest that about another 35 homes once existed alongside the 185 structures that still stand today.
The stone houses are described by Horton as being "densely packed in the southern part of the settlement.” This left little room for open spaces.
All the surviving stone houses at Shanga are of a single storey with walls of coral rag and lime between 0.38 m and 0.45 m thick.
Horton speculates that the purpose of these peg holes might have been to "support or display cloth hung on the walls.
"[1] The sheer number of tombs found at Shanga is far greater in comparison to any other site along the East African coast.
The fact that the mosques exist on the site "is the basis for the claim of a significantly early Islamic presence in Shanga.
"[1]: 209 Horton states that the Friday Mosque underwent several reconstructions and expansions during its time before it was destroyed and abandoned in the fifteenth century.
According to radiocarbon testing the first mosque built on the site dates back to the eighth century.
The latest radiocarbon date ranges from 1002 to 1106 AD, and it was obtained from a carbon layer below the floor of the mosque.
The distinct styles of pottery promote the idea of a sequence of transition in which one can trace the shifting forms of pottery-making and decorating.
Phase C pottery is redder in color yet has what Horton describes as "a limited decoration style that only extends a short distance.