Mahilaka

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Mahilaka was a trading town on the northwest coast of Madagascar in the Bay of Ampasindava on the offshore island of Nosy Be .

The city flourished mainly in the eleventh through the 15th centuries.

During excavations of Chantal Radimilahy some stone houses and mosques were found . The walled city covered an area of ​​about 60 hectares. In the center of the city was an approximately 3.8 hectare stone building, which may have been the palace of a ruler residing here. During the excavations, pottery was found that is linked to the local pottery of the island and shows that for the most part no newcomers lived here. There is evidence of iron working and perhaps also of glass making. Mining was carried out.

It has long been believed that there were no urban settlements in Madagascar before the 17th century. The Mahilaka find refutes this earlier view.

literature

  • HT Wright: Trade and politics on the eastern littoral of Africa, AD 800-1300, In The Archeology of Africa , edited by T. Shaw, P. Sinclair, B. Andah, A. Okpoko, London / New York 1993, p. 666-668, ISBN 041511585X
  • Chantal Radimilahy: Mahilaka. An archaeological investigation of an early town in northwestern Madagascar 1998

Web links

Coordinates: 13 ° 24 '  S , 48 ° 17'  E