Unguja Ukuu’s location was key to pursue an unconventional settlement strategy by which its inhabitants survived mostly on foods and goods that came from elsewhere since agriculture was not a main source of subsistence.

[4][5] A notable person in the history of Unguja Ukuu is Mohammed wa Joka, an ancient land owner that is remembered in several stories and legends belonging to the local oral tradition.

[4] The artifacts recovered show evidence that this place had experienced a long history of trade along the east coast of Africa and the Indian Ocean.

In addition, this site provided artifacts that date back to 500 to 700 A.D.,[9] including items imported from India, the Middle East, and the Roman state.

[3] In addition to what he found he also conducted informant interviews and was told of 500 pieces of gold that had been discovered and taken many years earlier by Arabs.

Over two meters of middens were discovered providing evidence of animal bones, iron slag, daub, glass, and bead-grinders along with domestic and imported pottery.

[8] While imported pottery only constituted under five percent of the sherds recovered, they did include Sasanian-Islamic & unglazed wares, Chinese Chansha stoneware, Zhejiang Zueh Yao greenwares and Dusun jars from Guangdong.

[3] Juma and Syse recovered Islamic pottery, Chinese stoneware, two shell middens, and a possible stone fort on the east of the site.

[10] In 1991 Chami was able to excavate deep enough to reach a level that revealed the presence of Early Iron Age sherds at this site.

[11] Jeffrey Fleisher & Stephanie Wynne-Jones (2011) complied radiocarbon data on sherds found at Unguja Ukuu and other surrounding islands (8).

[6] A large excavation project was initiated and yielded a great many artifacts and structural details that gave a clearer picture of the social mapping of Unguja Ukuu.

[3] Layer 2 at 9–30 cm deep Sgraffiato pottery with incisions and blue white porcelain bowl fragments were found.

[3] Layer 4 (5–66 cm deep), notable items are Changsha stoneware, poly-chrome ware from the Islamic period and what appears to be six copper coins.

Many of the Units provided pottery sherds, charcoal, middens, and animal remains, and added to the previous work done, Unguja Ukuu is a rich and diverse participant in the domestic and international trade networks in their time.

900 yo [7] 1866 discovered • Glassware, beads, alabaster, early iron working pottery & various metals [9] • Early Iron Age sherds • African red slip ware of the Roman Empire [11] The gold Cufic coins from the Abbasite dynasty found are of great importance since this is the earliest solidly dated object from this area of the coast.

[7] Some pottery, stone vessels, and glass material and beads of antiquity recovered at Unguja Ukuu are identified as coming from India, the Persian Gulf area and the Mediterranean region, and even north-western Europe.

These early trade ports along the eastern coast of Africa were privy to advantages from their location in the sea and their distance from the mainland.

[3] It is understandable that previous writers have mentioned that the influence of the world has left Unguja Ukuu almost void of personal identity and tradition.