- University of York, Archaeology, Faculty Memberadd
- Archaeology, Maritime Archaeology, Swahili Archaeology, Archaeological photography, Ports and Harbours, The archaeology of resource management and sustainability in ports and harbours, and 4 moreSwahili Coast, Near Eastern Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)edit
- Tom is an Africanist landscape archaeologist, with a particular interest in the survey and investigation of early med... moreTom is an Africanist landscape archaeologist, with a particular interest in the survey and investigation of early medieval settlements, and coastal and maritime activity of the Swahili Coast of East Africa.
He is currently Research Fellow in GIS and Spatial Archaeology at UCL Institute of Archaeology on the Everyday Islam Project under Dr Corisande Fenwick. Until September 2022 he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate on Dr Stephanie Wynne-Jones Leverhulme-funded Urban Ecology and Transitions in the Zanzibar Archipelago Project (UETZAP).
Having graduated with a BA Archaeology from the University of Southampton in 2007, he went on to study Near Eastern landscape archaeology at Durham University under Professor Tony Wilkinson, completing his MA dissertation on the early Islamic ports of the Persian Gulf in 2009. Between 2009-2011 he worked as a self-employed archaeological researcher and GIS specialist with projects at Durham University and The British Museum; as a part-time geophysical surveyor for Archaeological Services Durham University; and on various fieldwork projects in the UK, France, and Kuwait. In 2013 he was also employed to build and print a series of 3D models representing key archaeological phases of the Sacred Garden at Lumbini, Nepal, for the Durham University/UNESCO excavations of the protected WHO site. These models were used by the team in the National Geographic documentary 'Buried Secrets of The Buddha' in February 2014.
Tom went to York in 2011 and spent two years as the Archaeology Department's Computing Officer, before he was awarded an AHRC Doctoral Studentship in January 2014. His PhD thesis, Pushing the Boat Out, on the nature of the early Swahili harbours of the Zanzibar Archipelago, was supervised by Dr Stephanie Wynne-Jones and was completed in 2017. Following his PhD he was appointed an Associate Lecturer in Archaeology in January 2017, teaching History and Theory of Archaeology to first-years and practical skills in archaeological computing and survey to second-year undergraduates, as well as the MA Historical Archaeology, focusing on the archaeology of the African diaspora, European colonisation, and globalisation. He took up a position as postdoctoral research associate with UETZAP under Professor Stephanie Wynne-Jones in April 2019.edit
The later Holocene spread of pastoralism throughout eastern Africa profoundly changed socioeconomic and natural landscapes. During the Pastoral Neolithic (ca. 5000–1200 B.P.), herders spread through southern Kenya and northern Tanzania —... more
The later Holocene spread of pastoralism throughout eastern Africa profoundly changed socioeconomic and natural landscapes. During the Pastoral Neolithic (ca. 5000–1200 B.P.), herders spread through southern Kenya and northern Tanzania — areas previously occupied only by huntergatherers — eventually developing the specialized forms of pastoralism that remain vital in this region today. Research on ancient pastoralism has been primarily restricted to rockshelters and special purpose sites. This paper presents results of surveys and excavations at Luxmanda, an openair habitation site located farther south in Tanzania, and occupied many centuries earlier, than previously expected based upon prior models for the spread of herding. Technological and subsistence patterns demonstrate ties to northerly sites, suggesting that Luxmanda formed part of a network of early herders. The site is thus unlikely to stand alone, and further surveys are recommended to better understand the spread of herding into the region, and ultimately to southern Africa.
The Urban Ecology and Transitions on Zanzibar Project (UETZAP) and UrbNet invite abstract submissions for a joint EAA 2021 session on resource use and recycling in archaeological urban settlements. The deadline for submissions is 11th... more
The Urban Ecology and Transitions on Zanzibar Project (UETZAP) and UrbNet invite abstract submissions for a joint EAA 2021 session on resource use and recycling in archaeological urban settlements.
The deadline for submissions is 11th February, and the EAA 2021 conference will take place in Kiel and online between the 8th-11 September 2021. Abstracts up to 300 words should be submitted through EAA 2021 website (https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2021). For more details please get in touch through [email protected].
The deadline for submissions is 11th February, and the EAA 2021 conference will take place in Kiel and online between the 8th-11 September 2021. Abstracts up to 300 words should be submitted through EAA 2021 website (https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2021). For more details please get in touch through [email protected].
Research Interests: History, Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology, Recycling, Urbanism, and 9 moreUrban Ecology, Food in antiquity, Craft production (Archaeology), Antiquity, Ancient Urbanism, Medieaval Archaeology, Late antique and early medieval archeology, Medieval and Early Modern Archaeology, and Late Medieval and Early Modern Architecture and Urbanism
Abstract of a paper presented at the Beyond The Sea Symposium, University of Southampton, in 2015. The paper presents a methodology and results from ongoing PhD research into the identification of harbour-related activity areas at four... more
Abstract of a paper presented at the Beyond The Sea Symposium, University of Southampton, in 2015. The paper presents a methodology and results from ongoing PhD research into the identification of harbour-related activity areas at four Swahili port sites in the Zanzibar Archipelago, including the early capital of Unguja Ukuu.
Research Interests:
Abstract of a paper given at SAfA 2016 which demonstrates the effectiveness of reintegrating multiple sources to enable the identification and comparison of activity patterns and spatial organisation between settlements. The paper... more
Abstract of a paper given at SAfA 2016 which demonstrates the effectiveness of reintegrating multiple sources to enable the identification and comparison of activity patterns and spatial organisation between settlements. The paper presents a brief summary of both the problems and successes of this integrative methodology, the results of the geophysical surveys, and the preliminary conclusions of the thesis.
Research Interests:
Abstract of a conference paper given at AARD 2015 summarising the results of recent magnetometry surveys at three early Swahili harbour sites in the Zanzibar Archipelago, and presenting a low-budget methodology for site survey using... more
Abstract of a conference paper given at AARD 2015 summarising the results of recent magnetometry surveys at three early Swahili harbour sites in the Zanzibar Archipelago, and presenting a low-budget methodology for site survey using geophysics, Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) and photogrammetry
Research Interests:
The Swahili ports of the late 1st millennium played a crucial role in the trade of the Indian Ocean as resource entrepots, but our current knowledge of these sites is limited. Only a few such ports have been investigated, and our... more
The Swahili ports of the late 1st millennium played a crucial role in the trade of the Indian Ocean as resource entrepots, but our current knowledge of these sites is limited. Only a few such ports have been investigated, and our understanding of their development, harbour areas, or the role of maritime activity within these settlements is fragmentary.
This paper presents a limited set of harbour activities which can be expected to have taken place, the archaeological traces of these activities, and the techniques we might use to identify them. The identification of these activities has the potential to reshape our understanding of the development of the early Swahili coast, and the formation of the long-distance maritime networks across the Indian Ocean.
The methodology is presented with reference to previous work at Manda and Shanga, and the results of the authors own fieldwork at Unguja Ukuu, Zanibar. The results of this recent work justify a reappraisal of the settlement, and it will be argued that an open beach, rather than sheltered mangrove creek was the primary harbour, and that the shoreline may have hosted an array of resource-processing and industrial activities.
This paper presents a limited set of harbour activities which can be expected to have taken place, the archaeological traces of these activities, and the techniques we might use to identify them. The identification of these activities has the potential to reshape our understanding of the development of the early Swahili coast, and the formation of the long-distance maritime networks across the Indian Ocean.
The methodology is presented with reference to previous work at Manda and Shanga, and the results of the authors own fieldwork at Unguja Ukuu, Zanibar. The results of this recent work justify a reappraisal of the settlement, and it will be argued that an open beach, rather than sheltered mangrove creek was the primary harbour, and that the shoreline may have hosted an array of resource-processing and industrial activities.
Research Interests:
The Swahili ports of the late 1st millennium played a crucial role in the trade of the Indian Ocean as resource entrepots and manufactories of iron, but our current knowledge of these sites is fragmentary. Only a few such ports have been... more
The Swahili ports of the late 1st millennium played a crucial role in the trade of the Indian Ocean as resource entrepots and manufactories of iron, but our current knowledge of these sites is fragmentary. Only a few such ports have been investigated, and we have little understanding of their architecture, spatial organisation, or cultural influence on the later settlements of the East African coast.
In response, we have conducted 2 seasons of magnetic gradiometry at the 7th-10th century site of Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar, in order to map the layout of the site, identify structural plans and materials such as wattle-and-daub, and assess the potential of magnetometry for archaeological use in the Zanzibar Archipelago. The work, funded by the Entrepot Project (Danish Research Council, University of York, University of Aarhus), has resulted in the identification of previously unknown structures at the estimated limits of the site, and several areas in proximity to the harbour indicative of industrial activity.
The results justify a reappraisal of the relationship between the harbour and urban zones of this principal settlement of Zanzibar. We argue that the open beach of Menai Bay was the primary harbour, as opposed to the sheltered mangrove creek to the east, and that the shoreline may have hosted an array of resource-processing and industrial activities. We also discuss the strengths of magnetometry in identifying daub structures and activity sites, and the limitations of geophysics in the geology of Zanzibar.
As well as promoting the use of non-invasive geophysics in African coastal contexts, this work indicates that Unguja Ukuu was a maritime-oriented, African-origin and active agent in the Indian Ocean networks of the 1st millennium CE.
In response, we have conducted 2 seasons of magnetic gradiometry at the 7th-10th century site of Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar, in order to map the layout of the site, identify structural plans and materials such as wattle-and-daub, and assess the potential of magnetometry for archaeological use in the Zanzibar Archipelago. The work, funded by the Entrepot Project (Danish Research Council, University of York, University of Aarhus), has resulted in the identification of previously unknown structures at the estimated limits of the site, and several areas in proximity to the harbour indicative of industrial activity.
The results justify a reappraisal of the relationship between the harbour and urban zones of this principal settlement of Zanzibar. We argue that the open beach of Menai Bay was the primary harbour, as opposed to the sheltered mangrove creek to the east, and that the shoreline may have hosted an array of resource-processing and industrial activities. We also discuss the strengths of magnetometry in identifying daub structures and activity sites, and the limitations of geophysics in the geology of Zanzibar.
As well as promoting the use of non-invasive geophysics in African coastal contexts, this work indicates that Unguja Ukuu was a maritime-oriented, African-origin and active agent in the Indian Ocean networks of the 1st millennium CE.