Ezekia Mtetwa

ezekia.mtetwa@arkeologi.uu.se

Information finns bara på engelska

Postdoctoral Researcher in Archaeology

Project Title: Mapping Africa’s Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments (MAEASaM)

Ezekia is a trained Zimbabwean archaeologist and professional cultural heritage manager. He currently works at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University as a Postdoctoral Researcher. He is the leading researcher for Zimbabwe, one of the eight countries in Africa participating in the MAEASaM Project https://maeasam.org/     

Ezekia has a doctorate in African Archaeology. His main research areas include indigenous iron technology in Africa, human-environment interrelationships in Africa and cultural heritage management. His research is mainly conducted in Southern Africa as a whole and Zimbabwe specifically. He was born in Chipinge District along the southeastern border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique in 1976. He grew up in the coal-mining town of Hwange, western Zimbabwe, where he picked up several southern African languages including Ndebele, Tonga and Chewa adding them to Ndau, his mother tongue.

Ezekia studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Archaeology, History and Economic History at the University of Zimbabwe (1999-2001) before studying for a Special Honors Degree in Archaeology (2006-2007) at the same university. In 2006, Ezekia joined the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe as a curator of archaeology at the Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site. He then undertook an MA in Archaeology at the University of Dar es Salaam (2009-2011) where he received further training in Archaeology and Heritage Management Studies before going on to do his PhD in Archaeology from Uppsala University (2012-2018). He is fluent in Swahili, and an intermediate speaker of Swedish.

Research Project

MAPPING ARFICA’S ENDANGERED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND MONUMENTS

The Mapping Africa’s Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments (MAEASaM) Project aims to identify and document endangered archaeological heritage sites across Africa using a combination of remote sensing, records-based research and selective archaeological surveys. The Project will make records of these sites available in an Open Access geospatial relational database tailored for different interest groups and stakeholders. It seeks to identify and assess past, present and potential future threats to these sites, as well as develop approaches to enhance long-term site protection measures and new management policies with the project’s Africa-based partners and collaborators. The project will aim to ensure long-term sustainability of the mapping and monitoring components through targeted training of in-country collaborators and other heritage stakeholders. Dr. Daniel Löwenborg is the coordinator of the project at Uppsala University for Zimbabwe and Dr. Ezekia Mtetwa is the leading researcher. Read more information about the project on its own website: https://maeasam.org/