Aspects of African Archaeology

Excavations at Pate on the East African Coast

THOMAS H. WILSON AND A. LALI OMAR

Pate, a site on the S wahili coast of Eastern Africa, lies on the southwestern side of Pate Island in theLamu Archipelago, near Shanga and Siyu on the same island, and Manda and Lamu on the two largeislands to the southwest Pate town is approached from the sea through a channel created by thecoral reefs and mangroves that fringe the islands of the archipelago. The harbour thus formed al-lows seagoing vessels to beach on the foreshore at the edge of the town. With 27 hectares within thetown wall, and evidence of further settlement without, Pate is one of the largest sites on the coast,and with habitation spanning 1,200 years, it is also one of the longest continuously occupied settle-ments in eastern Africa.

The site of Pate

The site is a sprawling ruin field, with the remains of the town wall, mosques, houses, cemeteriesand tombs covering sections of the landscape (Chittick 1967: 55-63; Wilson 1978: 88-99). Thereare two contemporary villages within the walls, Kitokwa to the west and Mitaayu to the east, cover-ing only a fraction of the site at its greatest extent The town wall is mainly destroyed on the west-ern, harbour, side, although elsewhere it is often intact A number of gates in the wall providedingress and egress, and bastions spaced at intervals along the wall allowed for defence (Chittick1967:58-59, Fig. 11). Within the wall area number of ruined mosques that served the various neigh-bourhoods of Pate, none in their latest manifestations earlier than the 17th century (Garlake 1966:Figs. 31,32,34; Ghaidan 1976: Figs. 1-35,1-36). Houses in Pate were often elaborate, with porchesand entry ways leading into inner courtyards, behind which were a series of wide rooms, sometimesdivided into smaller chambers at the rear (Ghaidan 1976: Figs. 1-36 to 1-9; Donley-Reid 1984;Allen 1979). Graves at Pate were often protected by masonry enclosures with stepped ends or weretombs roofed with domes or truncated pyramids (Wilson 1979: Fig. 12; Ghaidan 1976: Figs. 1-33,1-40).

Previous research

Pate is not recognized in the Arabic historical sources before the coming of the Portuguese, but aftertheir arrival in 1498 Pate plays a lively role in the written records of coastal history (Strandes 1971;Freeman-Grenville 1962a). It is one of a number of coastal communities, such as Kilwa, Lamu andothers, whose histories are recorded in local chronicles(Freeman-Grenville 1962b; Chittick 1974;Prins 1958; Kitchens 1938). The Pate Chronicle survives in a number of versions that narrate a

544 Thomas H. Wilson and A. LaiiOmar

history dating from AH 600/AD 1204 (Tolmacheva 1993; Stigand 1913; Werner 1915). The use ofthe Pate Chronicle as an historical source has been much debated. Chittick correctly characterizingas "sisyphean" the task of reconciling its versions with other historical sources(1969a: 385).

In 1966, Neville Chittick, fresh from excavations at Kilwa fiiat largely focused upon integrat-ing archaeology and the Kilwa Chronicle (Chittick 1963, 1965, I966a, 1971), turned to the LamuArchipelago to elucidate further the history of the coast. There reconnaissance concentrated uponManda because of the ample evidence of early occupation, and upon Pate and its environs in orderto bring archaeological evidence to bear on the Pate Chronicle (1967:37). As part of the work atPate, Chittick surveyed the ruins, partially mapped the town, excavated seven test pits, and com-pared the results with the Pate Chronicle (1967: 55-63, 1969a).

Chittick assumed that evidence of earliest occupation should be found near the harbour, rea-soning that proximity to the sea would be a preferred location for coastal villages. Acting upon thisassumption, he positioned six of his test pits in a crescent from northwest Pate around to the south,although four were concentrated to determine the date and position of the town wall. The seventhtrench tested occupation on the far west side of Pate.

The excavations near the town wall established its construction in northwest Pate in the 18thcentury without much earlier evidence. Trench V in western Pate yielded 15th and 16th centurydeposits at the earliest, and the excavations in the far eastern side of the site (VI), and in the southnear the harbour (VII), revealed small numbers of 14th century ceramics. None of the excavationstested the vast central portions of Pate.

National Museums of Kenya excavations at Pate

In 1981 we undertook excavations as pan of the larger efforts of the National Museums of Kenya topreserve and protect the site and conserve some of the structures (Ghaidan 1976; Wilson 1982a, b;Wilson and Lali Omar 1996). Our research strategy, within the context of a small budget and limitedtime, was to test the assumption that the area of Pate's earliest occupation was near the harbourrather than under the highest and most central part of the site, to understand better site topography,to locate by excavation areas of early occupation, to secure a ceramic sequence for the site, todiscover other evidence, particularly inscriptions, relevant to the history of Pate, and to shed lighton the relationship between archaeological and historical research in eastern Africa. Although theexpedition was successful in each of these areas, this report focuses primarily upon the excavations,stratigraphy, site topography, ceramic sequence and chronology.

We positioned the test trenches on the high ground in the central part of the site, sinking Test Pit1 in a ruined house in east-central Pate, and Test Pit 2 about 275 m to the west, adjacent to the southwall of the Msikiti wa (Mosque of) Bwana Bakari. Test Pit 1 revealed a complex urban stratigraphy4.2m deep, with structures dating to the 14th century at the bottom and evidence of earlier occupa-tion just above bedrock. Test Pit 2 yielded, in the lowest 3m of a 5.2m deep excavation, a sequencefrom the late-8th or early 9th through the mid-13th centuries, establishing the earliest occupation atPate as approximately coeval with the first coastal communities elsewhere on the coast.

Test Pit 1

Test Pit 1 (Fig. 1) was an excavation 2 m by 2 m sunk in the front room of a house adjoining theMsikiti waNuru on the south (Chittick 1967: Fig. 11; Ghaidan 1976: Figs. 1-29,1-36). The excava-tion revealed a complex stratigraphy of successive structures and associated deposits (115 levels inall). From bedrock there were a series of soil and midden deposits on which was built Structure I, awall faced on the east side running north-south across the excavation. Fourteenth century Black onYellow ceramics bracket the period of Structure I (levels 91-114), although on or near bedrock

Excavations at Pate on the East African Coast 545

Figure 1 Sections of Test Pits 1 and 2.

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546 Thomas H. Wilson and A. Lali Omar

Sasanian-Islamic and late sgraffiato ceramics suggested earlier occupation elsewhere at Pate. Aseries of soils, middens and construction debris of the 15th and 16th centuries (levels 68-92) coverthe period following disuse of Structure I until construction and use of Structure n, a house (levels53-66), in the. 17th century. Following a period of disuse or destruction/construction (levels 37-52),the house on the surface. Structure HI, was built, perhaps in the 18th century. The uppermost levels(1-36) span the period of use and disuse of the final house structure.

Test Pit 2

Test Pit 2 was located on high ground adjacent to the Bwana Bakari Mosque (Chittick 1967: Fig. 11;Ghaidan 1976: Figs. 1-29, l-31,Garlake 1966: Figs. 31,34). Opened as 4 sq.m and reduced to 1.35width because of masonry encountered in level 6, the stratigraphy of Test Pit 2 represents twodifferent periods in the history of Pate (Fig. 1). The upper levels (1-38) represent the building, useand deterioration of the Bwana Bakari Mosque, perhaps from the 17th through the 19th centuries.Below the lowest compacted surface associated with construction of the mosque, the nature of thedeposit changed dramatically. Few features and no walls or floors were encountered in the lowerlevels (39-79). Immediately upon entering the lower deposits, the ceramic evidence indicated amid-13th century context. The disconformity between these deposits and the upper levels, repre-senting over three centuries, might have been caused by clearing the area for the first construction atthe mosque site.

Stratum I, the basal levels (77-79), is composed of yellow sandy soils derived from beach ordune deposits at a depth of 4.87 to 5.24m, from which were recovered the earliest earthenware.andimported ceramics, consistent with a date from the late-8th to the 9th centuries. Stratum II, levels64-76, at a depth of 3.81 to 4.87 m, is composed of red sandy soils, possibly reflecting the firstconstruction of daub structures in the area. Imported and local ceramics suggest a date of 9th to 10thcenturies for these deposits.

Stratum HI, levels 49-63, at a depth of 2.95 to 3.81m, is a series of medium brown sandy soils,some with a very distinct golden tinge. The color change could reflect the decline of daub and riseof stone masonry construction in the vicinity. Hatched and Cross Hatched Sgraffiato predominate inthese levels and, with the other ceramic configurations, suggest a date of the late-1 Oth/early-11 th tothe mid-12th centuries for these deposits. Stratum IV, levels 39-48, the uppermost deposits in thelower sequence, consists of slightly sandy medium brown soils grading upwards to rich dark greysoils resembling a midden at the top. The ceramic evidence dates the deposits from the mid- 12th tothe mid-13th centuries.

The ceramics of Pate

The excavations yielded 30,283 earthenware sherds, 16,713 from the lower levels (39-79) and4J12 from the upper levels (1-38) of Test Pit 2, and 8,858 from Test Pit 1. A total of 629 importedsherds, 2% of the assemblage, were recognized from these excavations, 245 from the lower levelsand 234 from the upper levels of Test Pit 2, and 150 from Test Pit 1. Analysis of this materialproduced six ceramic assemblages that, when correlated with stratigraphy and the imported ceram-ics, indicate five Periods (I-V). Periods I-III, from the late-8th/9th centuries through the mid-13thcentury, are defined by levels 39-79 in Test Pit 2. Periods IV and V are found in Test Pit 1 and theupper levels of Test Pit 2.

Excavations at Pate on the East African Coast 547

Figure 2 Earthenware of Periods la (1-7) and Ib (8-25). Late 8th-10th century.

1

548 Thomas H. Wilson and A. Lali Omar

Period fa

The earthenware of Period la occur in levels 71-79 of Test Pit 2. The assemblage consists of twokinds of globular necked pots and two kinds of bowls. They are rather heavily potted on a fabricfired dark slate grey or brick red with quartz temper. The pots are decorated with incisions from thetop of the shoulder to the rounded rim with triangles of multiple lines, sometimes in filled withhorizontal incisions, light crosshatching, broad lattices crudely scored, roughly cut multiple diago-nals, and irregular, widely spaced horizontal lines (Fig. 2: 1-4). Another type has an everted roundrim, on the exterior of which pressure from a sharp object or fingernail impression raised a row ofnodules (Fig. 2: 5,6). Bowls are open varieties or carinated types, the latter sometimes with thedistinctive triangular incised decoration (Fig. 2: 7).

This earthenware is called Early Kitchen Ware or Tana tradition ceramics in the literature (Chittick1974; Horton 1984). At Pate the earthenware of Period la are associated with Sasanian-Islamic,possibly one Islamic White-glazed ('Tin-glazed") sherd, Bitumen Coated and Brown Micaceoustypes, and Dusun Ware, indicative of the Iate-8th/9th centuries.

Period Ib

The earthenware of Period Ib is well made and finely decorated, occurring as globular pots similarto those of Period la, hole mouth pots, and carinated and open bowls. These ceramics are of grey orred fabric, with quartz temper and surfaces well smoothed. The globular pots are decorated abovethe shoulder with finely incised lines creating lattices, triangles infilled with diagonal lines or hatching,multiple diagonals, paneling, and diamond designs (Fig. 2:8-14). Hole mouth pots also occur (Fig.2:15). Carinated vessels are well-smoothed on the exterior, and may be decorated with incised linesor with hematite and graphite (Fig. 2:16, 17). Open bowls have well formed rims, often carinatedand beveled, and the interiors are often burnished, sometimes with hematite on the rim (Fig. 2:18-25).

A continuation of the Tana tradition/Early Kitchen Ware ceramics, the earthenware of Period Ibare associated with Islamic White-glazed ceramics (31 of 35 sherds), Sasanian-Islamic, and a redpaste earthenware slipped white or unslipped. The assemblage appears to be 9th-10th centuries.Two small and extremely abraded sherds that might be sgraffiato were recovered from levels 64 and65 of Stratum IIB. The best interpretation of present evidence is that sgraffiato entered the sequenceabout level 6*0, the beginning of Period II, and that these two sherds are misidentified or entered thedeposits through mixing. The possibility exists, however, that llth century deposits begin aboutfour levels and 25 cm below.

Period II

Globular pots no longer resemble the earlier necked varieties, but rather their shape approacheshole mouth pots, decorated with double line lattices, single line crosshatching, double diagonallines, and punctations (Fig. 3:1). The fabric is dark grey or brick red with quartz temper, sometimesmicaceous or with shell inclusions. Plain and decorated hole mouth pots also occur (Fig. 3: 2,3), asdo carinated types (Fig.S:6), open bowls, sometimes burnished, and specialized forms (Fig. 3:4,5).of Period n earthenware begin coterminously with or only slightly later than the first introductionof Hatched and Crosshatched Sgraffiato, probably about the beginning of the llth century, andcontinue until the introduction of Champlevl Sgraffiato and other late sgraffiato types around 1150.Imports of Islamic White-glazed ceramics cease at or shortly after the beginning of the period.

Excavations at Pate on the East African Coast 549

Figure 3 Earthenware of Periods II (1-6, A. D. 1000-1150), III (7-14, 1150-1250), IV (15-20, 1300-c. 1650), and V (21-37, c. 1650-c. 1850).

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550 Thomas H. Wilson and A. Laii Omar

Period III

There are two streams of Period III ceramics (Fig. 3: 7-12). The first comprises globular and holemouth pots, carinated types, and open bowls, made of poorly consolidated clays, dark grey in color,tempered with coarse bits of quartz, coral, shell and grit, fired at low temperature, producing friableand crumbly bodies. The second stream has similar forms slightly better made on a fabric fired to ashade of orange or tan on the surface or completely through the coarsely tempered grey paste.Crosshatched or diagonal line decorations are crudely applied. A notable category of bowls displaysa wide horizontal ledge rim, with traces of burnishing (Fig. 3: 13, 14).

The earthenware of Period III appear about the same time as the introduction of ChampleveSgraffiato, probably the middle of the 12th century, and other late sgraffiato types, such as the lategreens. The absence of Black on Yellow, which occurs in some numbers in the lower levels of TestPit 1, suggests a date of around 1250 for the end of Period Ifl.

Period IV

The earthenware of Period IV, recovered from Test Pit 1, include a number of different groups ofceramics: plain, crudely made vessels, red, brown, and black burnished types, and painted bowls.The plain unburnished earthenware is crudely made, with coarse clays heavily tempered, mainlywith quartz but also with shell and other grit, fired at low temperatures creating a friable ceramicwith surfaces usually rough from flaking. Hole mouth pots are very common, made of brown orgrey clays, heavily included with quartz or sometimes shell, and they display a wide variety ofdecorations on rough, corroded surfaces: crosshatching, short or elongated diagonals, punctationsand stab marks, and thumbnail impressions (Fig. 3: 15-18). Carinated vessels are almost absentfrom this assemblage, but open bowls are numerous, poor quality vessels heavily potted on greypaste burned brown, friable, with surface texture gritty.

Another group of Period IV ceramics consists of red burnished jars, carinated pots and openmouth bowls, of grey or brown paste burned reddish orange. Brown burnished open bowls com-prise another group, sometimes with cross burnishing, and five sherds of four bowls occur of afinely potted red paste ceramic, burnished brown with graphite decoration and hematite paint (Fig.3:19). A black burnished variety also appears. A small number of open bowls on a grey or brownpaste fired light red-orange are painted with wide red bands from the inner Up of the rim towards thebottom of the bowl (Fig. 3:20).

In a sense the unburnished ceramics of Period IV constitute a continuation of the tradition ofcrude earthenware ceramics from Period HI. Although some of the burnished and painted waresappear in 14th century deposits, the red, brown and black burnished wares, the painted bowls, andthe burnished open bowls decorated with graphite on the rim tend to occur in the 15th century and later.

•Islamic Black on Yellow ceramics demarcate the 14th century deposits, Islamic Monochromes

the 15th century, and Thin Glaze ("Imitation Stoneware"), Chinese Blue and White, and late Is-lamic Monochromes the 17th century levels.

Period V

The ceramics of Period V, 17th-19th centuries, are distinctively lighter in density and weight andthinner in body than earlier earthenware (Fig. 3: 21-37). The fabric is orange or red, sometimesbrown or grey, with painting in red, varying to purplish, especially on rims but sometimes as thinvertical lines all over the interior of bowls or on the exterior of pots.

Excavations at Pate on the East African Coast 551

Associated imported ceramics, from the upper levels of Test Pit 2 and levels 1-35 in Test Pit 1,include Chinese and Islamic Blue and White, Chinese Polychrome porcelains, Indian earthenware,and European ceramics.

Periodization

The following chart correlates the periods of Pate with the strata and levels of the excavations andsuggests dates for the assemblages and deposits based upon the ceramic sequence.

Period Stratum & Levels Date

V

IV

m (39-48)

n (49-59)

Ib (60-70)

la (71-79)

TP21-38

C: 39^1

IV 3: 42-44A: 45̂ *8

m C: 49-543:55-60

ffl A: 61-333:64-70

n A: 71-76I 77-79

TP1Surface: 1-9Structure ffl: 9-37

Post-O: 37-52Structure 0: 53-66Deposition: 68-81Post-I: 82-92-

Structure I: 91-1 14

19-17th centuries

17th centuries15-16th centuries

14th centuriesmid- 12 to mid- 13thcenturies

llth to mid- 12th centuries

9th-10th centuries

Late 8th (?) -9th centuries

Conclusions

The excavations at Pate reveal that it was a participant in the creation of Swahili culture fromearliest times-Pate was founded essentially contemporaneously with the other earliest coastal set-tlements, such as Shanga (Horton 1984), Manda (Chittick 1984), Kilwa (1974), and Unguja Ukuu(Chittick I966b; Horton and Clark 1985; Juma 1993). Examples of early Tana tradition ceramics,such as Period I at Pate, or related pottery and the associated imports Sasanian-Islamic and IslamicWhite-glazed ceramics, occur from Gezira in Somalia (Chittick 1969b) to Chibuene in Mozam-

552 Thomas H. Wilson and A. Lali Omar

bique (Sinclair 1982) and in the Comoros (Wright 1984). Recent research suggests that the earliestearthenware on the coastal sites is related to Iron Age ceramics of the first millennium AD. from theadjacent interior (Abungu 1989; Chami 1994; Sinclair 1990, 1991). Whatever future research mayreveal about the relationships between interior sites and the coastal sites of the Lamu Archipelago,Pate clearly participated in the development of Swahili civilization from its inception.

The ceramic sequence, chronology, stratigraphy, and site topography provide evidence aboutearliest Pate as well as subsequent developments. The ceramics of Periods la and Ib at Pate areclosely related. The earlier earthenware is more heavily potted than Period Ib ceramics, which arevery finely made with refined surfaces and skilled incised decoration. Period la ceramics are iso-lated in the lowest stratigraphic levels of Test Pit 2 within deposits of dune or beach sands, com-pared to the reddish levels of Period Ib that may herald the coming of daub structures nearby. Periodla earthenware is associated with Sasanian-Islamic pottery, whereas Period Ib imports are domi-nated by Islamic White-glazed ceramics. Collectively, these deposits occupy approximately 1.5 mat the bottom of Test Pit 2. The brown and then dark grey deposits in Strata III and IV might indicatethe increasing proximity of urban life in the llth-13th centuries. The evidence from Test Pit 1shows the depth and complexity of urban stratigraphy that developed over much of Pate from the14th century onwards.

This tremendously heavy overburden at Pate obscured the existence of the earlier deposits.Previous surface surveys did not reveal evidence of early occupation, in contrast to, for example,Manda and Shanga. Chittick's excavations were based on the plausible assumption that earliestoccupation would be nearest the harbour. Twelve hundred years ago, however, the harbour mighthave been almost 200m to the northeast of its position today. Over the years the same heavy urbanoverburden that occurs elsewhere in Pate, possibly combined with processes such as silting, slowlymoved the edge of the harbour southwest to its present position.

Interpreting the data from all excavations at the site, it appears that earliest Pate lies somewherefrom north to east or southeast of the Bwana Bakari Mosque, and that the site developed in this areafrom its foundation until the 13th century. By the 14th century the site was expanding to the southand east, and shortly thereafter to the west. The remains on the surface suggest that greatest spatialexpansion occurred by the 18th century, but further research, including a program of systematicexcavation and mapping, is necessary to understand more fully the development of this complexand important site. The example of Pate cautions one against relying too heavily upon surfacesurveys, especially on sites with deep deposits, to reveal accurately the chronological span of thesite. Similarly, it suggests that site topography must be carefully considered when planning excava-tion strategy and when interpreting the development of complex sites.

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