Land of the Ancient Dir clan.
1. Jarahoroto, (Dilla District), Awdal Region
Jarahorato (also: Dzharakhorato, Jaaraahorato, Jaarrahorrato)[1] is a village in the northwestern Awdal region of Somalia. It is named after a legendary King and Queen who ruled this land before the Somali conquest of this region. The King was known as Jara and his wife was known as Horato.
2. Borama District, Awdal Region
In 1950, the British Somaliland protectorate government commissioned an archaeological survey in twelve desert towns in present-day Somaliland, near the border with Ethiopia. According to the expedition team, the sites yielded the most salient evidence of late medieval period affluence. They contained ruins of what were evidently once large cities belonging to the Adal Sultanate. Three of the towns in particular, Abara, Gargesa and Amud, featured between 200 and 300 stone houses. The walls of certain sites still reportedly stood 18 meters high. Excavations in the area yielded 26 silver coins, unlike the copper pieces that were more common in polities below the Horn region. The earliest of these recovered coins had been minted by Sultan Barquq (1382–99), also of the Egyptian Burji dynasty, and the latest were again Sultan Qaitbay issues. All of the pieces had been struck in either Cairo or Damascus. A few gold coins were also discovered during the expedition, making the area the only place in the wider region to yield such pieces. Besides coinage, high quality porcelain was recovered from the Adal sites. The fine celadon ware was found either lying on the surface, or buried at a depth of seven and a half inches, or ensconced within dense middens four to five feet high. Among the artefacts were grey granular sherds with a crackled blue-green or sea-green glaze, and white crystalline fragments with an uncrackled green-white glaze. Some Ming dynasty ware was also discovered, including many early Ming blue-and-white bowl sherds. They were adorned with tendril scrolls on a bluish ground and ornamented with black spotting, while other bowls had floral patterns outlined by grey or black-blue designs. Additionally, a few Ming red-and-white sherds were found, as well as white porcelain fragments with bluish highlights. The Adal sites appeared to reach an Indian Ocean terminus at the Sa'ad ad-Din Islands, named for Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din II of the Ifat Sultanate.
Zbigniew A. Konczacki, Janina M. Konczacki (ed.) (1977). An Economic History of Tropical Africa: The Pre-colonial Period. Psychology Press. pp. 233–234. ISBN 0714629197. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
3. Amud, (Borama District), Awdal Region
The old section of Amud spans 25 acres (100,000 m2) and contains hundreds of ancient ruins of multi-roomed courtyard houses, stone walls, complex mosques, and other archaeological remains, including intricate colored glass bracelets and Chinese ceramics.
The Archaeology of Islam in Sub Saharan Africa, p. 72/73
According to Sonia Mary Cole, the town features 250 to 300 houses and an ancient temple. The temple was constructed of carefully dressed stone, and was later transformed into a mosque. It also features pottery lamps. Altogether, the building techniques, among other factors, point to a close association with Aksumite archaeological sites from the 2nd to 5th centuries CE.
Cole, Sonia Mary (1964). The Prehistory of East Africa. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 275.
4. Abasa, Awdal Region
Abasa is situated 44 km to the north of Borama, on the road from Zeila. A large town, it features numerous ruined structures stretching over a wide area. The buildings were built in a rectangular style, and the now ruined Abasa Mosque has large columns of two different types: cylindrical and cruciform. 14th to 16th century Islamic pottery and Chinese sherds have also been found here, which are believed to be relics from the Adal Sultanate's commercial activities.
Chittick, Neville (1975). An Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Horn: The British-Somali Expedition. pp. 117–133.
1. Jarahoroto, (Dilla District), Awdal Region
Jarahorato (also: Dzharakhorato, Jaaraahorato, Jaarrahorrato)[1] is a village in the northwestern Awdal region of Somalia. It is named after a legendary King and Queen who ruled this land before the Somali conquest of this region. The King was known as Jara and his wife was known as Horato.
2. Borama District, Awdal Region
In 1950, the British Somaliland protectorate government commissioned an archaeological survey in twelve desert towns in present-day Somaliland, near the border with Ethiopia. According to the expedition team, the sites yielded the most salient evidence of late medieval period affluence. They contained ruins of what were evidently once large cities belonging to the Adal Sultanate. Three of the towns in particular, Abara, Gargesa and Amud, featured between 200 and 300 stone houses. The walls of certain sites still reportedly stood 18 meters high. Excavations in the area yielded 26 silver coins, unlike the copper pieces that were more common in polities below the Horn region. The earliest of these recovered coins had been minted by Sultan Barquq (1382–99), also of the Egyptian Burji dynasty, and the latest were again Sultan Qaitbay issues. All of the pieces had been struck in either Cairo or Damascus. A few gold coins were also discovered during the expedition, making the area the only place in the wider region to yield such pieces. Besides coinage, high quality porcelain was recovered from the Adal sites. The fine celadon ware was found either lying on the surface, or buried at a depth of seven and a half inches, or ensconced within dense middens four to five feet high. Among the artefacts were grey granular sherds with a crackled blue-green or sea-green glaze, and white crystalline fragments with an uncrackled green-white glaze. Some Ming dynasty ware was also discovered, including many early Ming blue-and-white bowl sherds. They were adorned with tendril scrolls on a bluish ground and ornamented with black spotting, while other bowls had floral patterns outlined by grey or black-blue designs. Additionally, a few Ming red-and-white sherds were found, as well as white porcelain fragments with bluish highlights. The Adal sites appeared to reach an Indian Ocean terminus at the Sa'ad ad-Din Islands, named for Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din II of the Ifat Sultanate.
Zbigniew A. Konczacki, Janina M. Konczacki (ed.) (1977). An Economic History of Tropical Africa: The Pre-colonial Period. Psychology Press. pp. 233–234. ISBN 0714629197. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
3. Amud, (Borama District), Awdal Region
The old section of Amud spans 25 acres (100,000 m2) and contains hundreds of ancient ruins of multi-roomed courtyard houses, stone walls, complex mosques, and other archaeological remains, including intricate colored glass bracelets and Chinese ceramics.
The Archaeology of Islam in Sub Saharan Africa, p. 72/73
According to Sonia Mary Cole, the town features 250 to 300 houses and an ancient temple. The temple was constructed of carefully dressed stone, and was later transformed into a mosque. It also features pottery lamps. Altogether, the building techniques, among other factors, point to a close association with Aksumite archaeological sites from the 2nd to 5th centuries CE.
Cole, Sonia Mary (1964). The Prehistory of East Africa. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 275.
4. Abasa, Awdal Region
Abasa is situated 44 km to the north of Borama, on the road from Zeila. A large town, it features numerous ruined structures stretching over a wide area. The buildings were built in a rectangular style, and the now ruined Abasa Mosque has large columns of two different types: cylindrical and cruciform. 14th to 16th century Islamic pottery and Chinese sherds have also been found here, which are believed to be relics from the Adal Sultanate's commercial activities.
Chittick, Neville (1975). An Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Horn: The British-Somali Expedition. pp. 117–133.