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Munsa

Munsa is an archaeological site in Uganda, located in the southeastern part of Bunyoro (0˚49’30”N; 31˚18’00”E), and is commonly recognized by a rocky hill enclosed within an ancient ditch system.  The site is famously noted for its core samples recovered from a moderately small swamp. Excavations of this site has reconstructed the late-Holocene environmental history by evidence of iron-working, human burials, food production, and earthworks. Munsa is centered around the hill Bikegete and surrounded by three rings of earthworks in the form of trenches. According to the limited archaeological evidence available, permanent settlement at Munsa was believed to have ceased around the end of the seventeenth century AD. Abandonment of Munsa may have been part of major economic, political, and social upheavals that brought about a shift in settlement patterns.

Background

History of research

Munsa was excavated a number of times, the first excavations occurred at this site in 1952 by Lanning and in 1988 and 1995 by Peter Robertshaw. The site consists of settlement debris, human burials, rock-shelters and evidence of iron working, grain storage and the consumption of cattle. Lanning's objective at the site was to determine the extent of the trenches and to compare them with other known earthworks in the area. Phases of development within Munsa have been recognised by evidence of structural changes at the centre of the earthworks.

Excavations

Four cuttings, units, from six to sixteen square metres, were excavated in 1988. These cuttings were located at the lower end of Bikegete. Two of the units yielded several potsherds within the topsoil. A third unit, was located on the inner lip of the earthwork known as Trench A. Several potsherds were recovered, and decorated with roulettes, red paint. Also retrieved from Trench A in 1988 were iron artefacts, grindstones, cattle teeth, and a single green glass bead.The last unit was excavated across Trench A, the cutting revealed charcoal samples from the bottom of the fill. Several radiocarbon dates were processed on the charcoal recovered.

In 1994, three one-metre square test pits were excavated at Munsa One test pit, located on the north-eastern edge of the hilltop, contained few sherds and no sub-surface archaeological deposits. The second and third test pits, located on the northern and southern edges of the hilltop, revealed about 90 cm of deposits, with potsherds, a few pieces of iron and iron slag.

Around 230 square metres of Munsa were excavated in 1995. The excavation had been concentrated on the top of Bikegete. A series of 2 m square test units was excavated across the site. Near the base of Bikegete, a unit was dug at right-angles across the ancient ditch Lanning had designated Trench A. A similar unit was excavated across designated as Trench B. The depths of the excavated units varied from 25 cm where there was little or no archaeological material to about 4m in those laid across the ancient earthworks.

Pits were encountered towards the centre and southern side of Munsa. These pits were mostly all circular and varied in size, ranging from 75 cm to 4 m in diameter. Pits were filled with natural deposits and contained few sherds, bone, and charcoal fragments scattered throughout the 4 m depth of fill. Other pits, produced human remains, one contained poorly preserved fragments of a human infant. The other pit contained the skeletons of two adults. Both were lying on their backs with their legs extended.

Over 20,000 potsherds and several fired clay cones were recovered at this site. The most commonly used decorative technique at Munsa was a knotted-strip roulette. Few vessels were decorated with red slip or paint. Iron artefacts were discovered within burials along with iron beads, bracelets, and an occasional glass beads.

Environmental settings

The ground level at Munsa are granite intrusions, and quartzites that have become visible on the surface, forming isolated, rocky hills. Rainfall at Munsa is bimodal, with the occasional, duration of the two wetter periods during the year. A range of perennial crops, such as banana, coffee, and annuals, including beans and grains (mainly finger millet and sorghum), are cultivated. Cultivated bananas are also grown locally, and livestock, though valued, do not make a major contribution to food production at this site.

Age and radiocarbon dating

Sediment cores were collected from a small swamp nearest each trench,and a total of 15 radiocarbon dates were obtained. Sediments consisted of darkly colored clays and fine coarse sand deposits. Subfossil pollen, and  spore counts were collected and analyzed along with charcoal evidence. the pollen and spores provided indication of a forest, the and charcoal data indicated the low probability of fire. Overall, evidence from this site leans towards the presence of forest from the base of the sequences until early second millennium AD. Forest clearance commencing almost 1000 years ago matches the dating of the main period of occupation of the Munsa archaeological site.

Several charcoal samples were taken for radiocarbon dating during the excavations. The dates indicate the site having a complex history that spans from around the first millennium AD to about the seventeenth century. A number of dates, fall between an estimated 900 and 1200 AD; these results are taken from charcoal found in the fill of two graves. The iron-smelting furnace was excavated on the site; charcoal samples taken from within the furnace indicated that it was used between the estimated dates of 1288 and 1425 AD . The burials and the furnace both appear to date to before the construction of the earthworks.

Discoveries

Burials

Topsoil was underlain by a loose, black layer, up to about 30–40 cm thick, that contained over 170 kg of slag, tuyère fragments, furnace lining, and potsherds. Beneath this layer was a loose reddish deposit with few archaeological finds, some 10–20 cm in thickness, which was a fill of a burial pit. A male skeleton in the pit was recorded lying on its back, its head pointed in the west direction and its feet pointed east. The head was turned right, looking south, with its arms at its side and its legs having been draped across a rock. Many of the bones including the hands and feet were missing. Besides the skeletons found in pits, various single burials were discovered in shallow graves. The burial positions of these individual burials differed from those observed in the pits. The head was rested in the western direction, the feet were pointed east, and the feet were in a slight flexed position. All of the skeletons discovered were those of adults or sub-adults, some of which were missing their lower incisor. Poorly preserved bones of two to three human infants were also recovered. Grave goods within the individual burials included, iron and copper bracelets, along with iron beads.  

Food production

Sediment cores from the swamp at Munsa, Uganda indicate the presence of cultivated bananas (along with plantains) during the 4th millennium BC. Animal bones, mainly those of cattle, were seen and analyzed along with remains of other animals.

Grain storage

A vast amount of hollow pits were found, most likely used for storage of grain, along with large grinding stones and pottery; all indicative of cereal agriculture.

Iron working

Large quantities of iron slag were found in the excavations at this site and, while small amounts of slag and tuyère fragments were encountered in excavations elsewhere on the site, iron smelting was most likely confined to this northwestern area of the site. Recent archaeological studies at Bigekete Hill discovered an intact clay furnace used for smelting iron and making glass beads. Evidence of the clay furnace between AD 1200 and 1400 suggested a type of trading of goods. Excavation lead to the findings of two furnace fills, the top furnace contained around 8 kg iron slag, which displayed flow structure, and frequent small prills of slag. Plant impressions were displayed on the surfaces of the majority of the slag. In addition to the furnaces, several quantities of charcoal, several pieces of possible ore, fragments of furnace lining and a few ceramic sherds that may have been tuyère fragments were found. The upper fill was a very fine and loose black layer, dominated by plant impressed fluid slag and two large slag pieces. A radiocarbon date of 615 ± 50 BP was obtained from charcoal within the lower of the two furnaces. Dimensions and macroscopic features of a sample of tuyère fragments were recorded. No complete, tuyères were noted. The tuyères varied in colour from reddish or orange-yellow to dark yellowish grey, depending on how close the fragments were to the heat of the furnace. Many tuyère fragments were vitrified, with a glassy black appearance and with purplish slag on the surface.

Earthworks

The Munsa earthworks are the second largest in Uganda and appeared to have been formed between AD 1400 and 1650. They consist of deep trenches, surrounding Bikekete Hill, a granite outcrop with rock shelters. The name Munsa meaning ‘place of trenches,’is linked to the Bachwezi by archaeological evidence suggesting that the earthworks at Bikekete Hill date back to the 15th -16th century. It is probable that the surrounding earthworks, which are up to 7m wide and 3m deep, were excavated in a V shape making them difficult to cross, were built as fortifications to protect the rocky stronghold. The earthworks mapped by Lanning in 1995, is under cultivation and many of the ancient ditches are heavily blocked. Several modern houses and other buildings within the earthworks were discovered. Bikegete had cultivated on its lower slopes and had no buildings on it. The hill, best known for its series of small rock-shelters under granite boulders on its eastern side.

Interpretation and significance

Before the discovery of the evidence provided by this site, archaeologists longed to understand the development of the society and socio-economic changes within Uganda. The discovery of human burials, food production, iron-working, and earthworks all provided significant evidence that suggested Munsa to have once been a forested region that supported high densities of herbivores. Evidence of this site also supports archeological evidence of early cultivation. The remains at Munsa also provide an unparalleled opportunity to consider iron production in the context of habitation, burials, and other broader archaeological features. It is likely too that further furnaces remain undiscovered at Munsa. In order to maximise the potential of the iron working remains at Munsa, it would be desirable to return to the site to undertake further excavation and systematic sampling of the iron working remains with a view to conducting a range of archaeometallurgical analyses.

References

Iles, Louise, Peter Robertshaw, and Ruth Young. "A Furnace and Associated Iron Working Remains at Munsa, Uganda." Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa (2014): 45-63. Print.

Robertshaw, Peter. "The Ancient Earthworks of Western Uganda: Capital Sites or a Cwezi Empire." Uganda Journal 48 (2002). Print.

Robertshaw, Peter. "The Age and Function of Ancient Earthworks of Western Uganda." Uganda Journal 47 (2001): 20-30. Print.

Peter Robertshaw (1997) Munsa Earthworks, Azania: Archaeological

Research in Africa, 32:1, 1-20, DOI: 10.1080/00672709709511585

Lejju, B.j., D. Taylor, and P. Robertshaw. "Late-Holocene Environmental Variability at Munsa Archaeological Site, Uganda: A Multicore, Multiproxy Approach." The Holocene Holocene (2005): 1044-061. Print.

Lejju, B. Julius, Peter Robertshaw, and David Taylor. "Africa's Earliest Bananas?" Journal of Archaeological Science (2006): 102-13. Print.

Louise Iles, Peter Robertshaw & Ruth Young (2014) A furnace and associated iron working remains at Munsa, Uganda, Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 49:1, 45-63, DOI: 10.1080/0067270X.2013.877619