were more common on the celadon in the lower layers. Given the date of the tomb, it was determined that the ceramics above the tomb dated to the fifteenth century, which helped extrapolate dates for the remaining stratigraphy. Economy Local industries and trades likely included pottery production, metal working, construction, spinning and weaving cloth, fishing, trade, and possibly the production of salt, which are represented in the archaeological and historical record at a number of coastal sites. In addition, the local coral architecture using limestone mortar also indicates the presence of local trades associated with construction and masonry. Food production at Gedi likely involved a mixed economy based on livestock, as well as agricultural and horticultural production. Some foods were introduced through trade. Available crops included millet, African rice, cocoyam, coconuts, bananas, citrus fruits, pomegranates, figs, sugar cane, cotton, and various vegetables, while the principal livestock was likely cattle. Sheep, goats, and chickens played an important role as well. Swahili coastal settlements frequently conducted trade with the interior, obtaining goods for overseas trade or local consumption. However, isolated and small settlements have been interpreted as hinterlands that developed around and supported the economies of the larger settlements. Small settlements or hamlets were established between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries within the vicinity of Gedi including sites at the end of Mida Creek, Kiburugeni, Watamu, Shaka, and Kilepwa. These smaller settlements are thought to represent agricultural communities that provided Gedi with most of its agricultural produce. Maritime trade The history of maritime trade along the coast of East Africa dates to the Classical Period. The Periplus Maris Erthraei, written by an Egyptian-Greek merchant circa AD 40–55, described trading ports along the Indian Ocean including Azania, a historic designation of the East African coast extending southward to present day Tanzania. Physical evidence for trade predates the earliest towns in the ninth century with the discovery of four Roman beads from the fourth century and pottery from the fifth century. Roman documents from the first through fifth centuries, as well as, Ptolemy's Geographia also provide historical accounts of trade with East Africa, followed by a dearth of historical documents until the tenth century. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, Arab, Indian, and Chinese shipping grew in importance, which was eventually dominated by Persia after its conquest of southern Arabia and Egypt in AD 515 and AD 616. It