Damo, Somalia Explained

Official Name:Damo
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:Somalia
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Somalia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Somalia
Subdivision Type1:Regional State
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:Bari
Unit Pref:Metric
Timezone:EAT
Utc Offset:+3
Coordinates:11.8348°N 51.2368°W
Subdivision Type3:District
Subdivision Name3:Alula

Damo (Somali: Daamo) is a historic port town located in northeastern Somalia. It is situated in the autonomous Puntland region, 5 km west of Cape Guardafui.[1]

Archaeological remains

From late October to early December 1975, at the invitation of the Somali government, Neville Chittick led a British-Somali archaeological expedition in the northern half of Somalia. Members of the party included the Director of the Somali National Museum in Mogadishu, Sa‘id Ahmad Warsame, as well as ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Rahman and Fabby Nielson. Particular emphasis was placed on the area near Cape Guardafui in the far northeast. Financed by the Somali authorities, the survey found numerous examples of historical artefacts and structures, including ancient coins, Roman pottery, drystone buildings, cairns, masjids, walled enclosures, standing stones and platform monuments. Many of the finds were of pre-Islamic origin and associated with ancient settlements described by the 1st century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, among other documents. Based on his discoveries, Chittick suggested in particular that the Damo site in the Peninsula of Hafun likely corresponded with the Periplus "Market and Cape of Spices". Some of the smaller artefacts that Chittick's company found were later deposited for preservation at the British National Museum.[2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Damo · 5.0★(1) · Mountain peak . Damo · 5.0★(1) · Mountain peak . en.
  2. Book: Chittick, Neville. An Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Horn: The British-Somali Expedition. 1975. 117–133.