Jumba la Mtwana Archaeological Site

Jumba la Mtwana Archaeological Site

Location: 15 km North of Mombasa Map

 

Description of Jumba la Mtwana Archaeological Site

Jumba la Mtwana Archaeological Site

Jumba la Mtwana archaeological site is a located 15 km North of Mobasa in Kenya. Jumba la Mtwana is a an archaeological site of a fifteenth century slave trade port on the shore of an Indian Ocean. The site contains several houses, four mosques and several tombs. One of the best preserved structures of Jumba la Mtwana is a "house of the many doors". It served as a hostel for many travellers with separate rooms and entrances.

 

On the site of the ruined city there are four houses, four mosques and a tomb. The archaeologist James Kirkman found the ruined city in 1972 during an excavation. The ruins are a Swahili settlement from the 14th century, which was abandoned in the 15th century for reasons unknown until now. Relatively well preserved is the "House of the many doors", which probably served as a hostel, as it had many individual rooms, each with its own washing facilities. The large mosque by the sea had its own prayer room for women and oneCistern for ritual ablutions .

In 1982, the ruined city was named National Monument .