Sometime between the year 1080 and 1130 people built the small city of Gede on Kenya’s coast. In the mid-1600s the site was abandoned. Left behind were were mysteries for the archeologists to puzzle over: substantial stone building, coins from China, glass beads made in Venice, Italy, and ceramics from the Middle East and Asia. The students explore Gede, which they note was just one of many trading towns that were established on the coast to link Kenya to a wider world. They examine the reasons that might have led to the abandonment of Gede. And they offer practical suggestions for improving Gede’s role as an important part of Kenya’s heritage, starting with a better road to the site.
