The fame of the Kenyan coastline stretches back over 2000 years. Recorded history reveals that traders and travellers from Europe and Asia visited the land of Zanj, as the coastal region was called by merchants, as early as the first millennium AD. The strategic location of this coast on the Indian Ocean seaboard played a major role in its establishment as a powerhouse in transoceanic maritime trade. Rivalries among the world’s empires ensued as each tried to occupy the region to control trade routes. These wars for the conquest of the region, navigation errors, and wood rot caused by the teredo worm resulted in the destruction of marine vessels. These ships are sunken in these waters. One such shipwreck is located in the waters of Ngomeni, a small village 30 kilometres north of Malindi town. The tragic accident happened at the peak of Ngomeni’s fame as a maritime trading centre.
Mangrove Trade in Ngomeni
Ngomeni stands in the shadow of neighbouring tourist destinations such as Mambrui and Watamu. But if we were to turn the clocks back a few hundred years, we would find a bustling settlement in the prime of its time. This is mainly thanks to the mangrove forest that lines its shores. Traders from Portugal and the Persian Gulf docked at Ngomeni. While there, they purchased mangroves for use in the construction of their homes and cities. While this growth and export business allowed Ngomeni to flourish, its potential to become a prominent settlement was stunted by its shallow harbour which could only accommodate a limited number of smaller vessels.
As is the nature of the sea, the waters were sometimes unwelcoming. Those daring enough to venture into them in these moments were met with a disastrous fate. Lying on the seabed of Ngomeni is one such shipwreck of Portuguese origin. The ship made its final ill-fated journey sometime in the 16th century, a time when the Portuguese dominated the Indian Ocean trade. This shipwreck was discovered in 2008 and excavated in 2013 by the National Museums of Kenya. While several other sunken vessels had been discovered before, the Ngomeni shipwreck is the oldest and one of the most intact in the country. Some of the items found in the wreck include copper ingots, pottery wares, canon balls, stone anchors, wooden buckets, animal horn, and ivory.
Creation of an Underwater Museum
The Ngomeni shipwreck is a testament to the wealth of Kenya’s underwater cultural heritage. Kenya set the pace as the first country in sub–Saharan Africa to undertake underwater archaeological works in 1977. This is when a shipwreck in Mombasa was discovered and excavated. These relics of the past are invaluable sources of information about ancient civilizations and maritime technologies. As a result, plans are underway to create Africa’s first underwater museum. And Ngomeni offers the perfect location for the site. Concrete steps have been taken to preserve the artefacts found in this shipwreck. This includes the gazettement of this site as a national monument on 31st March 2021.
Would you be willing to take a deep dive into the underwater museum once completed? Comment and let us know what kind of artefacts you hope to see in it.
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