Mapping Africa's

United Republic of Tanzania



The United Republic of Tanzania (with the Islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar) is an East African country that covers an estimated 947,300 km2, of which approximately 885,800 km2 is land and 61,500 km2 is water. With a coastline of 1,424 km, the climate varies from tropical along the Indian Ocean coast to temperate in the highlands. Tanzania’s highest point is in fact the highest point in Africa: the iconic Mt. Kilimanjaro, which stands at an elevation of 5,895 m. The terrain is characterised by plains along the coast, plateau at the centre and highlands in the north and south. Land use is classified as approximately 44% agriculture, 37% forest, and the remaining 19% as having other uses.

According to Ethnologue, Tanzania has 129 living languages, of which two are now extinct. Kiswahili and English are the country’s official languages.

The United Republic of Tanzania has seven archaeological and heritage sites which have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Of these seven sites, three (Kondoa Rock Art Sites, Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara, and Stone Town of Zanzibar) were inscribed in the cultural heritage category; three (Kilimanjaro National Park, Selous Game Reserve and Serengeti National Park) in the natural heritage category and one (Ngorongoro Conservation Area) in the mixed heritage category. These sites are jointly managed by the National Museum of Tanzania (NMT) and the Department of Antiquities (DoMA) in Zanzibar. Tanzania also has six sites on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

Below are just a few of the United Republic of Tanzania’s diverse cultural heritage sites. Click through the gallery below to uncover the stories of these sites and read more about our project collaborators.

  • Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani
  • Kondoa Rock Art Sites
  • Olduvai Gorge
  • Isimila
  • Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar
  • Ras Mkumbuu, Pemba
  • National heritage custodians and project collaborators

Heritage fieldwork in Tanzania and Zanzibar

Staff from the Department of Museums and Antiquities (DoMA) undertook fieldwork exercises in 2022 to ground truth heritage sites in Zanzibar. The team visited and recorded sites at Tumbatu Island including Fukuchani, Mvuleni, Mkokotoni, Kuumbi Cave, Mangapwani, Chwaka, Unguja Ukuu, Kizimkazi, Mwanampambe, and Kuumbi historic cave.

In 2023, a team from the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) in Tanzania carried out a field mission to ground truth features identified through remote sensing and to survey areas where predictive modelling suggested a maximum likelihood of having archaeological sites. During this mission, the team visited the Iringa, Mbeya, and Ruvuma regions and included the community mapping of the archaeology as part of the field survey methods.

  • The team taking GPS readings inside the Great Mosque of Tumbatu Island
  • Ruins of the Great Mosque of Tumbatu Island
  • DoMA staff with Dr Daryl Stump (University of York) carrying out transect survey in Unguja Ukuu
  • Dr Titus Ombori, Baraka Ibare, Javern Sabas and Maria Edwin Sembua from the University of Dar es Salaam ground truthing sites in the Iringa region of Tanzania
  • Javern Sabas (Postgraduate student) from the University of Dar es Salaam collecting ceramic scatters in Ruvuma region of Tanzania