Early Swahili trading town on Pate Island in Kenya's Lamu Archipelago, distinct from Unguja Ukuu further south. Archaeological excavation (coins, pottery, glass, beads) shows a Muslim Swahili trading community with networks reaching the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia, and the Far East; the earliest radiocarbon date from the town's mosque falls in the 703-848 CE range.
Continued as a thriving Swahili coastal settlement for roughly 600 years, with its Friday Mosque rebuilt repeatedly, before the community's disappearance in the early 15th century.
The atlas holds 2 border frames for Shanga — the shape you scrub through changes in 750 · 1200.
Polity-specific excavation monograph, verified on Open Library by exact author+title match (British Institute in Eastern Africa memoir series).