Underwater Archaeology

Retrieving artifacts

A mix of old and new

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Diving one day, we looked for an old ruined dhow that sunk some years earlier. We couldn't find it, but our guide, knowing of Dan's interest in history, mentioned that there were ruins nearby.

Sailing close to the shoreline, we saw a place where the ocean had cut deep into the earth and inadvertently excavated the remains of an ancient settlement. Looking down into the clear water, we saw hundreds of pieces of broken pottery and other artifacts that had tumbled to the sea floor as the earth eroded.

I donned my mask, snorkel, and fins and dove down to retrieve some of the artifacts. Back on shore, Dan examined what was left of the old site, which included the remains of a well (now almost completely full of salt water).

Most of the rest of the site was buried underground. But where the ocean met the land, it exposed a cross-section that looked a little like one of those museum exhibits where they show you how different artifacts in an archaeological site are found at different levels.

His and Her Activities
For the rest of the afternoon, I snorkeled and dove, bringing up interesting shards. Dan examined the old site, trying to picture what it might have looked like half a millennium ago. Our lateen-sailed dhow, anchored just off the site, would have appeared perfectly normal to someone living here five hundred years ago. Nor would it have been at all unusual for a Swahili island town to host visitors from another continent: The Swahili have been trading across the Indian Ocean for centuries, and have been visited by Persians, Indians, Arabs, Europeans, Americans, and even Ming-dynasty Chinese.

Finally, it was time to turn our dhow homeward and leave. Still wearing his wetsuit, our guide climbed to the bow of the boat to adjust the rigging. I have an enduring image of him standing there in his turquoise neoprene, handling traditional ropes made of smashed and dried coconut husks.

The coexistence of things old and new, native and foreign, is a hallmark of Swahili culture. Not unlike a couple wanting to explore reefs and ruins—and finding out that you can do both at the same time.

Article copyright © Karen Berger and Dan Smith