Gede Ruins
GEDE RUINS

Welcome to the magnificent Gede Ruins

Gedi lies on the coastal region of Kenya, 94 km north of Mombasa town. Gedi was a small town built entirely from rocks and stones, which was inhabited by Swahili people of East Africa. This historic town date back from the 15th century, and through careful preservation most of the original foundations can still be seen today.
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Gede Ruins (2)

About Gede

Gede’s prosperity peaked in the 15th century but by the 17th century the town had been abandoned. The town’s abandonment is attributed to several factors including; raids from neighboring communities, arrival of the Portuguese, conflict in neighboring city states of Malindi and Mombasa, and a drop in the water table.


In 1929 it was declared a protected monument and in the late 1930’s some of the buildings which were in danger of collapsing were repaired by the Public Works Department of the Kenya Government. Sitting on 45 acres of land, excavations at the site continue to this day

Digitising Gede

The approach to digitizing Gede aimed to preserve both the tangible and the intangible history of the site. The project documented the structures as they appear today while situating them in the context of present day community life. The following digitisation approaches were used:

- 360 Panoramic tours

- Photography

- Videos / Interviews

- Terrestrial Laser Scanning

Video - Behind the Scenes
Gede Ruins shots (3)

Gede Digital Archive 

The Gede Digitisation project brings together multiple data sets created to document the site and share it with wider audiences. The archive contains extensive spatial data as well as audio/visual recordings of the site and community members.

Virtual Tour - Gede Ruins
IMMERSIVE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

Take a virtual tour of Gede

Experience Gede

A project by Kenya National Commission for UNESCO.

Digitisation partners - African Digital Heritage and Zamani project