The basic chronology of the early town of Manda Island in the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya is divided into 6 different periods, based mostly on the types of imported pottery that has been found in different strata of the excavations. The first period, I, begins in the mid ninth century and is subdivided into four parts, a, b, c, and d, ending in the early eleventh century.Chittick, 1984, p.11 Period II has two parts, A and B, though the divide between the two is rather vague and could be entirely arbitrary, and dates from the mid eleventh to the late twelfth for the former, and late twelfth to late thirteenth century for the latter.Chittick, 1984, p.11 Period III runs from the late thirteenth century to the fourteenth when Period IV picks up and ends in the early Sixteenth. Period V covers the mid Sixteenth and all of the seventeenth, and the final period covers everything after the Seventeenth century.Chittick, 1984, p.12
Imported wares
Imported Chinese stone and porcelain wares These vessels are interesting because there are no other pieces of contemporary Chinese wares found in east Africa.Chittick, 1984, p.65 There were five types of Chinese wares in period I: Dosun ware This is stoneware that typically has an olive green glaze that is usually over grey body. At Manda there are jars with a number of embryonic handles at the shoulder of body.Chittick, 1984, p.66 No complete specimens have been found at Manda but this type of pottery is known from other sites to have been ovoid in shape. This type is found in the pre-mosque strata so they are appearing in Manda as early as 800 AD.Chittick, 1984, p.66 Painted ware These are thickly potted bowls usually decorated with free hand abstract or floral motifs. They are usually green or green and brown in colour under a yellow or greenish olive glaze.Chittick, 1984, p.66 There is little known about this style from China as not many specimens have been found. This type is also found in pre-mosque strata onward like Dosun. Green-grey wares This type is also referred to as Yue type and is believed to be ancestral to celadon type pottery.Chittick, 1984, p.66 It typically comes in a matte glaze which is usually grey green on a grey base and is sometimes decorated with marks around the inside and outside of the base.Chittick, 1984, p.66 This style usually takes the form of bowls in Manda. They appear after the reconstruction of the mosque which occurred after 850. White porcelain These are typically thinly potted bowls decorated with white fabric and a non-translucent white glaze.Chittick, 1984, p.66 This style is also referred to, perhaps misleadingly, as porcelaneous stoneware. The rim of these vessels often has slight decorative nicks. This style probably has a South China origin rather than a North China one and are found in strata dated to between 850 and 950, continuing to be found in strata into Period IIA.Chittick, 1984, p.66 White stoneware This style is characterized by a cream-coloured paste with a white glaze and is more thickly potted than the porcelain. It typically takes the form of a bowl with a very wide flat base ring.Chittick, 1984, p.67 It is found in earlier strata than the porcelain, dating it to just after the mosque period.Chittick, 1984, p.67 One fragment of a lid has been found at Manda. Porcelain and stoneware These continue to be found at Manda but are very rare after Period IIB.
Islamic wares
Glazed wares of Period I
Sasanian Islamic Sasanian Islamic is the most common style found in this period and finds of this style mainly consist of large vessels which are typically blue-green in colour but can be green-blue.Chittick, 1984, p.70 Many have become a light blue mostly with matting due to age and weathering. There is an inner glaze found in vessels other than the bowls which is usually different from the outer glaze which usually comes in either white, blue, or black, colours which are likely due to firing conditions; if the firing is done incorrectly a purple red shade can be a result.Chittick, 1984, p.70 Jars are the largest category of Sasanian wares and are large heavily potted vessels which exhibit both applied and incised decoration usually in a Wavy line motif. The applied decorations, on the other hand, are molded and are restricted to rosettes. These vessels have ring bases and curved handles.Chittick, 1984, p.71 Sasanian wares also come as basins with straight flaring sides and a flat base as well as an out-turned rim. They are found in strata from early inhabitance to the beginning of Period IIA.Chittick, 1984, p.76 White or Tin Glazed ware The specimens at Manda have weathered glazes that were previously dead white but have aged into more of a grey color. This type of pottery has an arguable origin; it is believed that this type of pottery was used to imitate the white Chinese porcelain and/or stoneware.Chittick, 1984, p.77 Bowls Bowls of Islamic make are similar in shape to Chinese bowls of this period and the base is often recessed. The glaze is usually blue but there are examples of green and one example had blue inscriptions. These vessels are found after Period IA.Chittick, 1984, p.77 Lustre ware This style is rather rare compared to most other imported wares of the first period and comes in 2 groups. The first is a white opaque glaze with a buff body which is more common and is a variation of the white glazed wares while the second has a dark blue glaze with a white body.Chittick, 1984, p.77 Both types are almost always nearly hemispherical bowls. Green and White ware This is also very rare in comparison to other types found at Manda. It has a relatively hard, off white or buffed body with a white slip and both the interior and exterior are glazed.Chittick, 1984, p.78 This glaze is usually striped. It is likely that all wares of this type were bowls but due to the fact that the sample size is so small it is impossible to know for certain.Chittick, 1984, p.78
Glazed Islamic wares of Period II Sgraffiato This style comprises the vast majority of Period II imports.Chittick, 1984, p.78 Specimens are mostly bowls but some jars have been found as well. This style was imported until the end of the thirteenth century. In the 11-12th century there are three types of Sgraffiato, characterized by the type of decoration present on the vessels. Hatched Sgraffiato is mostly floral designs with the background around the designs often composed of incised lines, Simple Sgraffiato is decorated in plain incised curvilinear lines, and finally, Champlevé Sgraffiato has parts of the slip removed so as to expose the red body of the vessels.Chittick, 1984, p.78 13th century Sgraffiato wares are typically of a far poorer quality and are usually dark green or grey brown in colour with little decoration present.Chittick, 1984, p.79 Sub-Nishapur ware This type is characterized by a soft reddish brown fabric with a dark brown slip on a yellow background and likely originates in eastern or southern Iran during the tenth or eleventh centuries.Chittick, 1984, p.81
Unglazed Islamic wares These wares comprise 50% of the assemblage in the first period, which is rather unusual as this type of pottery is very rare in other East African sites. All specimens appear to have been wheel thrown.Chittick, 1984, p.81
Types of unglazed Islamic wares Unglazed Islamic wares found at Manda are generally identified by vessel type.
Storage jars The storage jars fall into 5 categories. Massive Jars Massive jars are highly decorated with incised work, have very short necks with small handles between the neck and the top of the body and can be pink, purple, or red in color.Chittick, 1984, p.84 Jars with tall necks Jars with tall necks are not as large as the massive jars and are thin-bodied.Chittick, 1984, p.86 They have a fine fabric, which is typically red, sometimes with a black slip.Chittick, 1984, p.86 The jars may have come with strap handles, but it is not known for sure as no vessels have been found with handles. Deep Crocks Deep crocks with incised decoration have a moderately thickened rim and a hard red fabric.Chittick, 1984, p.88 The deep scored decoration is akin to that found on the massive jars and they perhaps originate from Siraf.Chittick, 1984, p.88 They are fairly common. Hole mouth jars Hole mouth jars come in a soft green buff fabric and are fairly rare.Chittick, 1984, p.88
Basins Basins come in three varieties. Straight sides Basins with nearly straight sides have a flat base, a plain rim, and are ellipsoid in shape.Chittick, 1984, p.90 They come in a red fabric with a cream slip and the only decorated example consists of wavy incised lines around the rim.Chittick, 1984, p.90 Widely flaring bases Only a single specimen of this variety has been found at Manda. It has a buff fabric covered by lighter fabric slip and the upper surface of the mouth is decorated with a chevron pattern consisting of 4 deeply incised lines.Chittick, 1984, p.90 Ledge rims Basins with a wide, flat topped, horizontal ledge rim, with crosshatching are around 30-40 cm in height and are relatively thin body compared to other types of basins.Chittick, 1984, p.90 They can be pink, buff, or grey and are never fired the same color all the way through, along with a white slip with incised decoration.Chittick, 1984, p.90
Bowls There are two types of bowls. One is open with straight sides, a plain rim, and a flat base. The only ornamentation on this type is a groove located below the rim and it is covered by a dense, usually cream colored but occasionally brown, fabric.Chittick, 1984, p.90 The other type is a handled bowl with a spout which is between 25 and 35 cm in diameter.Chittick, 1984, p.90 They both have a moulded rim with marked carination, small vertical handles with a ridge down the middle, short spouts and are cream or buff in color; there is a single example in red with a white slip.Chittick, 1984, p.90
Handled vessels in buff fabric