design elements. Prior to the diversification of local styles and types, early ceramics at Gedi were more uniform and contained similarities with ceramics found at other coastal sites. Despite the increase of imported ceramics in the fifteenth century, local varieties continued to be present in later levels of the sites occupation. Ceramic chronology In the fourteenth century, celadon was a prized import in East Africa, which was initially obtained from the Ming Dynasty in exchange for ivory. However, knowledge of direct exchange with the Chinese is restricted to a single account of a Chinese fleet harbored off of Malindi and Mombasa between 1417 and 1419. The number of imports from China and elsewhere continued to increase throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, represented by a large number of black on yellow Islamic wares and celadon. Also during the fourteenth century, local wares began to diversify with Gedi's expanding economy. During the beginning and end of the fifteenth century, respectively, blue and white porcelain began to gradually replace celadon and monochrome Islamic wares completely replaced black on yellow types. During the same century, local wares began to change with the reduction in the number of incised ornamental patterns and a shift to long necked-pots, compared to earlier short-necked variants. In the following century, blue and white porcelain and monochrome Islamic wares became the dominant imports; a trend that began to emerge in the previous century and would continue until Gedi's decline in the seventeenth century. Pottery associated with the dated tomb The array of different types and styles of ceramic found during the excavations of Gedi provide information about the city's trade ties through the origin of imported vessels and aid in dating the site through seriation. At Gedi, a chronology has been established for the appearance of many of the ceramics, which have been found in deposits up to five feet. The dated tomb with an inscription connecting it to AD 1399 has served as a datum point for dating the stratigraphic layers. Celadon, Islamic monochromes, and blue and white Chinese porcelain were found in levels above the tomb, which date to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Below the tomb, yellow and black Islamic wares were found down to the natural soil, while celadon was found in layers immediately below the tomb. The celadon below the tomb varied from the celadon found above the tomb, since carvings of lotus pedals