Case file · Haunting
The guardians of Gedi
The ruins of Gedi, a Swahili stone town in the forest near Malindi abandoned in the early 17th century, are said by local people to be guarded by the spirits of its former inhabitants.
1948 CE · -3.31, 40.02 · status: legend
The account
The town was cleared and excavated by the archaeologist James Kirkman from 1948. Its mosques, palace and houses, swallowed by forest, gave rise to tales that the old elders (wazee) still watch over the site: visitors who take anything or behave disrespectfully are said to fall ill or lose their way, and offerings are left in some ruins. Why the town was abandoned is still debated.
The sceptical view
Folklore attached to an atmospheric ruin; archaeologists link the abandonment to raids, falling water levels and shifting trade.