{"id":4953,"date":"2026-10-01T13:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/journal\/?post_type=article&p=4953"},"modified":"2026-10-27T16:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T13:00:35","slug":"gedi-the-vanished-historic-city-onthe-east-african-coast-a-study-of-itshistory-and-civilization-in-light-ofarchaeological-evidence","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/qiraatafrican.com\/journal\/article\/gedi-the-vanished-historic-city-onthe-east-african-coast-a-study-of-itshistory-and-civilization-in-light-ofarchaeological-evidence","title":{"rendered":"Gedi (The Vanished Historic City) onthe East African Coast: A Study of ItsHistory and Civilization in Light ofArchaeological Evidence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Publisher: <\/strong>Qira’at Afriqiyah Magazine
Issue:<\/strong> 70, October 2026
ISSN<\/strong>: 2634-131X
Year :<\/strong> 22
Pages: <\/strong>28-45
Author<\/strong>: Prof. Batal Shaban Mohammad Gheriany – Egypt
Download pdf<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>Abstract:<\/span><\/strong>
<\/bdo>\nGedi holds exceptional research value as a unique case among the ruined Swahili towns of the East African coast: it is entirely absent from every historical source contemporary with its period of flourishing\u2014Arabic or Portuguese\u2014despite these sources' meticulous documentation of neighboring towns such as Mogadishu, Kilwa, and Mombasa. This resounding historiographical silence renders Gedi a rare and seldom-discussed methodological case: a city whose history can be accessed solely through purely archaeological reading, independent of any supporting or comparative textual record. This lends the study added value in offering a model for how an integrated civilizational history can be reconstructed relying exclusively on material evidence. The study's significance is further enhanced by Gedi's recent inscription (in 2024) on UNESCO's World Heritage List, making its scholarly treatment timely amid renewed international interest in the site.\n\nThis study proceeds through six interconnected principal axes. The first addresses the broader civilizational context of the geographical and historical development of Swahili towns, serving as an introductory framework for understanding Gedi\u2019s emergence. The second examines the city\u2019s geographic location and the circumstances of its initial founding, drawing on the findings of James Kirkman\u2019s excavations (1948\u20131958) and St\u00e9phane Pradines\u2019 excavations (1999\u20132003). The third traces the phases of construction and architectural development of Gedi, through a study of the succession of the three Great Mosques, the six neighborhood mosques, and the building materials and techniques employed.\n\nThe fourth surveys the city\u2019s economic activities\u2014agriculture, local craft production, and international trade with Yemen, Oman, Egypt, Persia, India, and China\u2014relying particularly on the analysis of imported and locally produced ceramics. The fifth explores the structure of Gedi\u2019s Swahili society through archaeological evidence relating to residential and social differentiation. The research concludes with a sixth axis discussing the converging factors that led to the city\u2019s decline and eventual abandonment. Together, these axes rest upon the integration of three successive waves of excavation spanning seven decades, granting the study a methodological depth that goes beyond reliance on a single phase of fieldwork.\n<\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
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