Ruins of Gedi

archaeological site in Kenya

The ruins of Gedi (also known as Gede) are a historical and archaeological site near the Indian Ocean coast in Kenya.[1]

Ruins of Gedi
Ruins of the Great Mosque at Gedi
LocationKilifi District, Kenya
Coordinates3°18′34″S 40°01′02″E / 3.3094°S 40.0172°E / -3.3094; 40.0172
Ruins of Gedi is located in Kenya
Ruins of Gedi
Location of the ruins of Gedi

Overview

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The site of Gedi includes a walled town and its outlying area. The earliest evidence for occupation at Gedi is a grave dating to between 1041 to 1278.[2][3] Gedi was abandoned in the middle of the seventeenth century.[1]

The Gedi ruins were first discovered by colonialists in 1884 after a British resident of Zanzibar, Sir John Kirk, visited the site.[1] However, Gedi remained unknown to most of British East Africa's colonists until the 1920s.

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3D Model

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Most of the Gedi Ruins were spatially documented in 2010. A 3D model can be viewed here.

Administration

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Gedi was made a historic monument in 1927. The site was declared a protected monument in 1929.[1] Gedi and the surrounding forest was declared a national park in 1948.[4] The site is currently administered by the museum's Department of Coastal Archaeology of Kenya.[1][5]

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The final scene of the 1992 film "Nel continente nero" ("On the Black Continent") directed by Marco Rizi takes place and was filmed among the ruins of Gedi.[6][7]

The ruins of Gedi are described and repeatedly mentioned in Andrei Gusev's 2020 novel “Our Wild Sex in Malindi”.[8][9][10]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Gede - Historical Background". National Museums of Kenya. 2007. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  2. Reynolds, David West. "Swahili Ghost Town." Archaeology vol. 54 no. 6 (November/December 2001): 46.
  3. Schofield, J. F. "The City of Gedi: Presidential Address." The South African Archaeological Bulletin vol. 10 no. 38 (June 1955): 35.
  4. James Kirkman, "Gedi", 8th edition, 1975, Rodwell Press
  5. Reynolds, David West. "Swahili Ghost Town." Archaeology vol. 54 no. 6 (November/December 2001): 44.
  6. "Nel continente nero", IMDb.com.
  7. "Nel continente nero", Allmovie.com
  8. Review of "Our Wild Sex in Malindi" on the site of public fund "Union of writers of Moscow", 2020
  9. Andrei Gusev “Our Wild Sex in Malindi” Archived 2020-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, 2020 (in Russian)
  10. «Наш жёсткий секс в Малинди» by Andrei Gusev, 2020