store rooms of the houses and found in greater abundance than struck coins, represented by only two coins of Chinese origin. The use of cowries as currency is supported by their historical use as tender in various parts of Africa, and Kirkman estimated the exchange rate of cowrie shells to the gold dinar to be 400,000 to 1. However, there are examples of locally struck coins at contemporary sites, but none have been recovered at Gedi. The use of beads as a currency has also been proposed by J. F. Schofield, who claims that a decline in the number of beads recovered in the upper stratigraphic layers reflects a decline in their value around the fifteenth century. Beads There are several classifications of beads common to the Swahili coastal settlements that have been found at Gedi. In his examination of beads found at Gedi and the Limpopo Valley (Mapungubwe), Schofield placed beads into three categories: red, blue, green, and yellow cylinders made from cane glass; smaller black, red, green, yellow, and blue biconical and lenticular beads made from wound glass; and spheres of red, black, and yellow pressed glass. Kirkman similarly created eight classifications of beads. All but 25 of the 558 beads categorized as class 1–3 were made from opaque glass. During his excavations at Gedi, Kirkman recovered 631 beads in six stratigraphic layers. Monochrome yellow, green, and black wound and pressed glass beads formed in melon, biconical, globular, barrel, and cylindrical shapes were the most common styles represented in strata from the fourteenth century and sporadically appeared in later levels. Small drawn cane glass beads are also commonly represented in fourteenth and fifteenth century levels with the colors green, opaque red, yellow, and black occurring more frequently than blue, brown, and red. It is believed that Islamic traders brought the majority of glass beads to East Africa, which were traded across the continent, since the only current evidence for glass production West of Egypt and Nubia is at the Igbo Olokun Grove at Ile-Ife in southern Nigeria. Pottery Numerous types and styles of ceramics have been found during the excavations at Gedi including Chinese porcelain, Islamic glazed ware, and locally produced earthenwares. Several examples of the ceramics recovered at Gedi are represented in different quantities at other coastal sites. Red slipped pottery is rare at Gedi, compared to other inland sites, while bowls with rounded bottoms, flat rims,