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Manda (Swahili town)

800 – 1400
City-stateAfrica

An early Swahili trading town on Manda Island in the Lamu Archipelago, Kenya, excavated by Neville Chittick in the 1960s-70s; occupation dates from the 9th century, contemporary with Shanga (also on the Lamu Archipelago) and Unguja Ukuu, both already in the dataset. Manda shows unusually early evidence of coral-and-stone construction and imported ceramics pointing to Indian Ocean trade links.

Declined through the medieval period and was effectively abandoned; the site survives only as ruins (a designated National Monument of Kenya), distinct from the nearby modern Lamu town.

Borders in 1200 · drawn from 2 sourced border frames
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Borders over time

The atlas holds 2 border frames for Manda (Swahili town) — the shape you scrub through changes in 800 · 1200.

Further reading

Sources