the site. However, the ruins remained obscured until their subsequent rediscovery in the 1920s, when the site began to gain attention from the British East African government. Initial excavations at Gedi began in the late-1940s, and the site today remains one of the most intensely studied Swahili Coast settlements. The significance of the ruins has been largely used to assess the site's role within the region in association with other sites to provide insight into the development of Swahili culture, the organization of Indian Ocean trade, the introduction and spread of Islam, and the political and economic ties between Swahili communities through their cultural remains and their spatial relationships. Early archaeological research Excavations commenced at Gedi in 1948 under the supervision of James Kirkman, lasting until 1958 with intermittent excavations occurring from the 1960s to the 1980s. Kirkman excavated the buildings at the city's core, including the palace and several mosques and houses, and also cleared and repaired the walls. The Great Mosque was excavated in 1954 and the palace was excavated in 1963. Following his excavation of the Great Mosque, Kirkman's report "The Arab City of Gedi, The Great Mosque, Architecture and Finds" was published, followed by a series of monographs and papers. Along with the excavations at Gedi during the 1950s, concurrent excavations also took place at similar sites along the Swahili Coast. Wilson's 1982 survey of the 116 sites along the coast found 34 isolated ruins, which he concluded likely contained possible settlements or isolated dwellings. Although smaller settlements were studied, larger sites received the most attention. Other than Gedi, the site most intensively excavated was Ungwana at the mouth of the Tana River, which was similar in size to Gedi. However, compared to sites similar in size, Gedi had one of the more densely populated urban centers. Recent archaeological research Since the 1990s archaeological research at Gedi and other Swahili coastal settlements has intensified. From the 1980s archaeological research increasingly began to focus more on the relationships between the coastal communities and the interior, challenging the original notion that the development of the Swahili Coast was driven by foreign influence through Indian Ocean trade or by Arab colonists. Another important development in the study of Swahili coastal sites is the increased attention given to remains of structures that were not built of stone. Surveys of the open terrain at Gedi found dense concentrations of mud-thatched dwellings.