- Reconnaissance of the coral buildings at Kilwa, Tanzania
（2012/8/16-2012/8/27、Tanzania）
Visiting Professor, Faculty of the World Heritage, Cyber University・Shinichi Nishimoto
Coral buildings at Kilwa in Tanzania have been registered as a world heritage by UNESCO, however unfortunately their architectural technique seems not to have been discussed in details so far. A connaissance of these buildings, with assistance of anthropologist Dr. Ryo Nakamura, was carried out in order to compare them with the coral monuments of Suakin in Sudan and with that at Kilani in Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
In the case of Suakin, trimmed coral blocks were generally used and ashlar masonry developed at this site is remarkable, but at Kilwa, rubble masonry accounts for the construction of most of the buildings (Photo 1). Wooden beams were built into the stonework to act as ties and solidify the structure in Suakin, whereas similar method would not have been applied to the major coral buildings at all in Kilwa. Mangrove logs were frequently observed as floor beam (Photo 2), lintel of the doorway and window, and a support for stairway (Photo 3), which inform us the importance of this wood at that site.
The Great Mosque would be presumably one of the most attractive architecture in the East Africa. Although partly damaged, oblong domes (Photo 4) and vault ceilings erected on the semicircular and pointed arches appeared to be preserved well. These ceilings would have been simply constructed on the temporary pile of soil as a mold, rather than the systematic use of wooden centring or other scaffoldings. Lintel arch is also installed here in the outer wall (Photo 5), in contrast to the common window style with the lintel of mangrove logs.
Furthermore, remains of sanitary facilities would be noteworthy (Photo 6). Such information concerning the water system merits publications from the architectural point of view, and detailed study is hoped in near future.
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