Kaashidhoo Kuda Miskiyy

In 2018, the Maldives Heritage Survey (MHS) worked on several sites on the island of Kaashidhoo (Kaafu Atoll), including the Kuda Miskiyy site. At that time, we documented surviving historic sections of the mosque that was then still in use on site (MAHS-MDV-KAF-KSD-S-002), including wooden roofing beams and a lacquer-worked banister incorporated into the modern preaching pulpit (minbar).

In 2019, local residents concerned over the possibility of bodies having been buried under the mosque excavated through the floor to a depth of 0.9m. The dig did not find any traces of human remains, but did discover the coralstone foundations of an older mosque buried beneath the building then in use, as well as a number of smaller artifacts and a sunken well just off the corner of those older foundations.

In 2022, the Maritime Asia Heritage Survey (MAHS) Maldives Field Team was invited back to Kaashidhoo to conduct additional documentation and evaluation of the site, at which time dust and mud accumulated since the time of the 2019 excavation were cleared away for purposes of systematic documentation. This video summarizes the findings uncovered on site by the 2019 excavation, opening a window onto a cultural history of the island stretching back over several centuries. For open-access to our complete dataset of archaeological sites and historical artifacts from the Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, and other countries of the region, please visit us at: https://maritimeasiaheritage.cseas.ky...