The project Mapping Africa’s Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments (MAEASaM) supported by the Arcadia Fund is identifying and documenting Africa’s rich archaeological heritage, including some previously unidentified sites and monuments. There is a particular emphasis on mapping and recording sites under threat, whether from urban growth, conflict, sea-level change or infrastructure development, among other adverse impacts. Future potential threats as well as those that have impacted sites in the past and present, are being identified and assessed. The aim is to enhance long-term protection measures and inform new management policies – to be developed by the project’s Africa-based partners and collaborators, with input from the various MAEASaM teams

Drone Photograph of Great Zimbabwe, Image credit: By Daniel Löwenborg and Ezekia Mtetwa (2016)

The mapping work is carried out using a combination of remote sensing, records-based research and automated site detection methods. The different MAEASaM teams also undertake field assessments of a sample of threatened sites to assess the reliability and accuracy of remote sensing methods for site detection. Training is provided to in-country collaborators: in site detection, recording, database entry and database sustainability.

Phase 1 of the project was completed on 30 June 2024, having mapped and documented many thousands of archaeological sites across eight countries: Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Sudan, Senegal, Mali, Kenya, Ethiopia and Botswana. In Phase 2 (2024-29), made possible through follow-on funding from Arcadia, the project is continuing its work in these countries and has now expanded in scope to include Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and The Gambia. All countries selected represent a cross-section of site types and conditions, a diversity of threats to archaeological sites, and varying national needs, capacities and data availability.

The project is hosted by the University of Cambridge with the project’s Principal Investigator, Professor Paul Lane and Project Manager, Dr Stefania Merlo, in collaboration with mapping and digitisation teams based in the African continent, as well as in the UK, Belgium and Sweden. MAEASaM partners with the British Institute in Eastern Africa, the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, University College London, the University of Pretoria, Uppsala University and the University of York. The project also collaborates with relevant national heritage bodies to collate, digitise and synthesise existing national archaeological site inventory records and published data on archaeological and cultural heritage sites.

All data will ultimately be published online utilising the Arches platform: a geospatial graph-based database tailored for different interest groups and stakeholders. The collated and analysed data will be used to develop country-specific recommendations for future research priorities and management and mitigation strategies, in consultation with relevant national, regional and international heritage management agencies. The database will also be used to promote wider public understanding of Africa’s rich and diverse archaeological heritage.

MAEASaM Project members at the University of Pretoria, South Africa

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