Gede Ruins are the remains of a Swahili city, typical of most cities along the East African coast. It traces its origin back to the 12th century, but was rebuilt with new walls in the 15th and 16th centuries. This reconstruction is connected with the emigration of many citizens of Kilwa to Mombasa, Malindi and other places along the coast. With its numerous inhabitants, the city became rich and reached its peak in the fifteenth century. This enormous wealth is evidenced by the presence of numerous ruins, formed by a set of mosques, a magnificent palace and the houses all immersed in 45 hectares of the forest ofprimeval. But in the first half of the seventeenth century, the last families left the city.Possible abandonment of nature is considered to be due to a number of factors. That is to say, the Wazimba raid along the East African coast in 1589. The removal of the Sheikh of Malindi and the Portuguese in Mombasa in 1593. The water table that falls as shown by the deepening of the well outside the Great Mosque and, finally, the embossing threat from Galla, a hostile nomadic ethnic group from Somalia. Gede remains the first intensely studied site on the coast. It is the first visit of Sir John Kirk, a British resident of Zanzibar in 1884. More than forty years later, in 1927, it was used as a Historic Monument. Two years later, in 1929, it was declared a "protected monument" and in the late thirties, the Public Works Department carried out works for the preservation of its crumbling walls. Gede was shortly after repairs in 1948 declared a national park and an archaeologist appointed director. Thus, the first archaeological work of Gede started under the direction of James Kirkman followed by the first publication of the site. In 1969, the Gede administration was taken over by the Museum foundation.Currently the monument is under the care of the National Museums of KenyaKenya and besides being an important archaeological site, Gede indigenous forest is a sacred place for traditional rituals and sacrifices for the surrounding community.
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