Heis (town)


Heis is a historic coastal town located in the Sanaag region of Somaliland.. The settlement is inhabited by the Habr Je'lo sub-clan of the Isaaq.

History

The site said to be identical with the ancient trading post of Mundus that is described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, an anonymous account by a Greek Alexandrian salesman from the 1st century CE.
A large collection of cairns of various types lie near the city. Excavations here have yielded pottery and sherds of Roman glassware from a time between the 1st and 5th centuries. Among these artefacts is high-quality millefiori glass. Dated to 0-40 CE, it features red flower disks superimposed on a green background. Additionally, an ancient fragment of a footed bowl was discovered in the surrounding area. The sherd is believed to have been made in Aswan or Lower Nubia, suggesting early trading ties with kingdoms in the Nile Valley.