Protecting marine cultural heritage of Mozambique Island

Written by Cezar Mahumane, Director of the Center of Archaeology, Research and Resources of Mozambique Island; Lecturer at Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique; PhD Candidate, University of Pretoria, South Africa    

My journey to the underwater world    

Since I was a child, I have always appreciated the sea for leisure, without realizing the amount of material and immaterial meanings it hosts. But deep down, I felt a connection.

As a young adult, dreaming about my professional life, I wanted to work in an open environment and close to the sea, even before I understood its importance. I always loved playing outside and admired the daunting waves as they crashed on the shore. However, at that time, the sea was a forbidden subject for my parents. To them, the ocean represented unknown mysteries and a great danger for their child. Perhaps for these reasons my parents never allowed me to swim in the sea, but my longing for the ocean was greater than their fear, and time would prove that.

As an archaeology graduate student, in 2012, I had a class in Maritime archaeology taught by Prof. Ricardo Duarte. He brought an unmatched passion when teaching the subject, explaining the complex interactions developed by the sea, the various meanings it has for different communities, and the richness of marine cultural heritage in Mozambique’s waters and along its coastline. The enthusiasm of my professor unearthed my willingness, interest, and dedication to pursue a career in the field. At this point, I was driven to contribute to the preservation and protection of Mozambique’s marine cultural heritage. From this moment, my journey in marine cultural heritage started, however, I was still not sure how I would navigate these new horizons.

An opportunity emerged when my class had a fieldwork season in Inhambane-Tofo, an area located in Southern Mozambique, with an incredible diversity of both marine life and archaeological sites. At this time, we were trying to locate shipwrecks and land sites linked to slavery in Inhambane. There we conducted practical activities such as archaeological surveys, mapping, and archaeological material recovery along the Inhambane bay. We also carried out visits to important archaeological sites and museums to recognise the archaeological importance and the marine cultural landscape of the area. During this fieldwork season, we had the opportunity to get certified in scuba diving, a skill I was eager to obtain but could not because I had no swimming skills.

A few months later, I learned to swim and chased a second chance to get that diving certification, which happened in 2014, right before my graduation in Archaeology and Heritage Management at Eduardo Mondlane University. Both certifications, in archaeology and diving, opened a range of opportunities I could have never imagined. I was able to contribute towards marine cultural protection and preservation in Mozambique and participate in academic discussions while interacting with communities.    

Training in marine cultural heritage for young African professionals in Mozambique Island. @ Crimildo Chambe, 2024.

Orientation to locate an underwater archaeological site in Mozambique Island for a community dive activity. @ Samira Jamu, 2024.

The start of a career in marine cultural heritage

In the first days of my career, I took part in two trainings, one in Biscayne National Park,    Florida, USA, where I mapped different elements of marine cultural heritage. This included recording artifacts and wooden structures of shipwrecks underwater, and processing data to produce site plans and visualisations. Additionally, in the training  we recorded traditional knowledge of coastal communities such as boat building practices, narratives and histories of local importance. Furthermore, I was integrated in a two-week program to build a coral plantation underwater on sandy areas to help recover marine life and provide a habitat for different marine species.

Later in the year, I took part in a UNESCO training in Mombasa, Kenya, where I met other enthusiastic, young, African marine archaeologists like Moussa Wele (Senegal), Eliot Mowa (Namibia), Levuyo Ndzuzo (South Africa), Emmanuel Odekanyin and Aribido Adeniyi (Nigeria), Seraphin Heurng (Madagascar), all striving to promote, protect, and preserve the marine cultural heritage throughout the continent.

We discussed the applications of the UNESCO 2001 convention on the protection of underwater cultural heritage in Africa, which provides a common, legally binding framework for State Parties on how to identify, research and protect their underwater cultural heritage while ensuring its preservation and sustainability. We shared our countries’ common challenges and the need to reinforce the best practice of the convention, raise awareness, and contribute toward its ratification.

We set ourselves a challenge: we would commit to driving change in our countries and advocate for marine cultural heritage.

     Planting coral during the coral restoration program in the United States. @ Kamau Sediki 2015.

A mission to protect Mozambique Island’s marine cultural heritage

Around this time, Mozambique was facing a serious problem of treasure hunting in Mozambique Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These activities disturbed  many historical sites from different time periods and origins, which were linked to the Island’s development and to local and global trade from the sixteenth to twentieth century. These activities also dispersed important artifacts, generating anger among the community, leading them to plead for an end to treasure hunting. In 2014, the government cancelled the contract with such a treasure hunting company due to the pressure of national and international academics, and fundamentally, the local community. As a result, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism asked the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) to develop a protection and preservation plan for Mozambique Island heritage together with the local community.

The UEM team started by assessing the condition of the disturbed heritage sites on Mozambique Island with support from the Slave Wrecks Project and the Ambassadors Grant for Cultural Preservation. I was assigned to co-direct preservation measures on one of the most affected sites, the IDM-003, tentatively identified as the Nossa Senhora da Consolação, a 17th century Portuguese Indiaman set on fire in 1608 during a Dutch siege of Mozambique Island. This site was completely excavated, exposed and most of the valuable artifacts, like lead ingots, porcelain and coins, were sold by the treasure hunters. This wreck site preserved a number of artifacts from the 17th century that witnessed the global trade, linking Mozambique Island to the rest of the world. To preserve the site, it was mapped in its most current condition and its exposed structure was covered with geotextile to mitigate human and natural threats.

Community members were also trained as monitors, with the idea that they would be the first eyes on heritage protection, able to recognize potential human and natural threats to this heritage.

Session of community engagement toward the protection of marine cultural heritage in Mozambique Island. @Samira Jamu, 2024.

The results of these joint efforts were the establishment of a Center of Archaeology, Research, and Resources of Mozambique Island (CAIRIM), an entity that has the domain to protect, research, train, and exhibit the rich heritage of this island, covered by histories, memories, and sea culture representative of different times.  

CAIRIM, together with the community and local tour operators, are joining forces to amplify the tourism industry on the island and increase visits. This established more sustainable activities for the community such as training monitors to guide tourists to historical and archaeological sites, either on land or under water as a way of creating job opportunities rooted in cultural heritage.

Today, as the Director of CAIRIM, I have been promoting its activities in local, national, and international spheres. We host students willing to develop projects in marine heritage, ensuring that research incorporates the local community not just as case studies, but as an integral part of the research team. Research results are communicated directly to the local community for their own consumption and to increase their options for using heritage to their own benefit.

Center of Archaeology, Research and Resources of Mozambique Island. @Crimildo Chambe, 2025

Although I recognize that there are several social and economic challenges, especially in a remote place like Mozambique Island, I am optimistic that science, culture, and heritage can be a source of income and sustainability for the community. This piece of writing is part of my own history, which I am pleased to share, and I expect that it will encourage youth and young professionals to always chase their dreams and never give up on the preservation and protection of heritage in their homeland. Cultural heritage brings us closer together and shapes our way of living in harmony with nature and collaboratively within our community. It is our identity, and represents our differences and multiplicity.