Pemba Island
Archaeological excavations conducted on Pemba Island have shown the significance and centrality of the location within the Swahili coastal trading system from the 7th century AD. Urban settlements were later developed on the northern coast of the island from the 11th to the 16th centuries, flourishing from the maritime trade in the region.
At the East of Chake-Chake, Pemba’s Capital, the Mkama Ndume ruins date to the 15th century and appear to be the only known early fortification on the whole Swahili Coast.