Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of

Great Zimbabwe
the modern country of Zimbabwe, near Lake Mutirikwe and
the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a
kingdom during the Late Iron Age.[1] Construction on the city
began in the 11th century and continued until it was abandoned
in the 15th century.[2][3][4] The edifices were erected by
ancestors of the Shona people, currently located in Zimbabwe
and nearby countries.[5] The stone city spans an area of 7.22
square kilometres (2.79 sq mi) and could have housed up to
Tower in the Great Enclosure, Great
18,000 people at its peak, giving it a population density of
Zimbabwe
approximately 2,500 inhabitants per square kilometre
(6,500/sq mi). It is recognised as a World Heritage Site by
UNESCO.

Great Zimbabwe is believed to have served as a royal palace

for the local monarch. As such, it would have been used as the
seat of political power. Among the edifice's most prominent
features were its walls, some of which are 11 metres (36 ft)
high.[5] They were constructed of "dry stone" (that is, without
mortar). Eventually, the city was abandoned and fell into ruin.

The earliest document mentioning the Great Zimbabwe ruins

was in 1531 by Vicente Pegado, captain of the Portuguese Shown within Zimbabwe
garrison of Sofala on the coast of modern-day Mozambique,
who recorded it as Symbaoe. The first confirmed visits by
Europeans were in the late 19th century, with investigations of
the site starting in 1871.[6] Some later studies of the monument
were controversial, as the white government of Rhodesia
pressured archeologists to deny its construction by black
Africans.[7] Great Zimbabwe has since been adopted as a
national monument by the Zimbabwean government, and the
modern independent state was named after it.

The word great distinguishes the site from the many smaller
ruins, now known as "zimbabwes", spread across the
Great Zimbabwe (Africa)
Zimbabwe Highveld.[8] There are 200 such sites in southern
Africa, such as Bumbusi in Zimbabwe and Manyikeni in Location Masvingo Province,
Mozambique, with monumental, mortarless walls.[9] Zimbabwe
Coordinates 20°16′S 30°56′E

Shona Type Settlement

Part of Kingdom of Zimbabwe
 Zimbabwe is the Shona Area 7.22 km2 (2.79 sq mi)
name of the ruins, first History
recorded in 1531 by
Material Granite
Vicente Pegado, captain
of the Portuguese Founded 11th century CE
The conical tower inside the Great
Enclosure at Great Zimbabwe garrison of Sofala. Abandoned 15th century CE
Pegado noted that "The Periods Late Iron Age
natives of the country
Cultures Kingdom of Zimbabwe
call these edifices Symbaoe, which according to their language
signifies 'court' ".[10] UNESCO World Heritage Site

The name contains dzimba, the Shona term for "houses". There Official name Great Zimbabwe
are two theories for the etymology of the name. The first National Monument
proposes that the word is derived from Dzimba-dza-mabwe, Criteria Cultural: i, iii, vi
translated from Shona as "large houses of stone" (dzimba = Reference 364 (https://whc.unesc
plural of imba, "house"; mabwe = plural of bwe, "stone").[11] o.org/en/list/364)
A second suggests that Zimbabwe is a contracted form of Inscription 1986 (10th Session)
dzimba-hwe, which means "venerated houses" in the Zezuru
dialect of Shona, as usually applied to the houses or graves of chiefs.[12]

Description

Settlement
The majority of scholars believe that it was built by members of the
Gokomere culture, who were the ancestors of the modern Shona in
Zimbabwe.[13]

The Great Zimbabwe area was settled by the 4th century AD.
Between the 4th and the 7th centuries, communities of the Overview of Great Zimbabwe. The
Gokomere or Ziwa cultures farmed the valley, and mined and large walled construction is the Great
worked iron, but built no stone structures.[9][14] These are the Enclosure. Some remains of the
earliest Iron Age settlements in the area identified from valley complex can be seen in front
of it.
archaeological diggings.[15]

Construction and growth

Construction of the stone buildings started in the 11th century and
continued for over 300 years.[4] The ruins at Great Zimbabwe are
some of the oldest and largest structures located in Southern Africa,
and are the second oldest after nearby Mapungubwe in South
Africa. Its most formidable edifice, commonly referred to as the
Plan of the complex
Great Enclosure, has walls as high as 11 m (36 ft) extending
approximately 250 m (820 ft). David Beach believes that the city
and its proposed state, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, flourished from 1200 to 1500,[3] although a somewhat
earlier date for its demise is implied by a description transmitted in the early 16th century to João de
Barros.[16] Its growth has been linked to the decline of Mapungubwe from around 1300, due to climatic
change[17] or the greater availability of gold in the hinterland of Great Zimbabwe.[18]

Traditional estimates are that Great Zimbabwe had as many as

18,000 inhabitants at its peak.[19] However, a more recent survey
concluded that the population likely never exceeded 10,000.[20]
The ruins that survive are built entirely of stone; they span 730 ha
(1,800 acres).

Features of the ruins

Aerial view of Great Enclosure and
In 1531, Vicente Pegado, Captain of the Portuguese Garrison of Valley Complex, looking west
Sofala, described Zimbabwe thus:[10]

Among the gold mines of the inland plains between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers there is a
fortress built of stones of marvelous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them ... This
edifice is almost surrounded by hills, upon which are others resembling it in the fashioning of
stone and the absence of mortar, and one of them is a tower more than 12 fathoms [22 m] high.
The natives of the country call these edifices Symbaoe, which according to their language
signifies court.

— Vicente Pegado

The ruins form three distinct architectural groups. They are known
as the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex and the Great Enclosure.
The Hill Complex is the oldest, and was occupied from the 11th to
13th centuries. The Great Enclosure was occupied from the 13th to
15th centuries, and the Valley Complex from the 14th to 16th
centuries.[9] Notable features of the Hill Complex include the
Eastern Enclosure, in which it is thought the Zimbabwe Birds
stood, a high balcony enclosure overlooking the Eastern Enclosure,
View west from the Eastern
and a huge boulder in a shape similar to that of the Zimbabwe Enclosure of the Hill Complex,
Bird.[21] The Great Enclosure is composed of an inner wall, showing the granite boulder that
encircling a series of structures and a younger outer wall. The resembles the Zimbabwe Bird and
Conical Tower, 5.5 m (18 ft) in diameter and 9 m (30 ft) high, was the balcony.
constructed between the two walls.[22] The Valley Complex is
divided into the Upper and Lower Valley Ruins, with different
periods of occupation.[9]

There are different archaeological interpretations of these groupings. It has been suggested that the
complexes represent the work of successive kings: some of the new rulers founded a new residence.[3] The
focus of power moved from the Hill Complex in the 12th century, to the Great Enclosure, the Upper Valley
and finally the Lower Valley in the early 16th century.[9] The alternative "structuralist" interpretation holds
that the different complexes had different functions: the Hill Complex as an area for rituals, perhaps related
to rain making, the Valley complex was for the citizens, and the
Great Enclosure was used by the king. Structures that were more
elaborate were probably built for the kings, although it has been
argued that the dating of finds in the complexes does not support
this interpretation.[23]

Notable artefacts
Aerial view looking southeast, Hill
The most important artefacts recovered from the Monument are the
Complex in foreground
eight Zimbabwe Birds. These were carved from a micaceous schist
(soapstone) on the tops of monoliths the height of a person.[24]
Slots in a platform in the Eastern Enclosure of the Hill Complex
appear designed to hold the monoliths with the Zimbabwe birds,
but as they were not found in situ, the original location of each
monolith and bird within the enclosure cannot be determined .[25]
Other artefacts include soapstone figurines (one of which is in the
British Museum[26]), pottery, iron gongs, elaborately worked ivory,
iron and copper wire, iron hoes, bronze spearheads, copper ingots
and crucibles, and gold beads, bracelets, pendants and Detail of the wall with lichen, 1975.
sheaths.[27][28] Glass beads and porcelain from China and
Persia[29] among other foreign artefacts were also found, attesting
the international trade linkages of the Kingdom. In the extensive
stone ruins of the great city, which still remain today, include eight,
monolithic birds carved in soapstone. It is thought that they
represent the bateleur eagle – a good omen, protective spirit and
messenger of the gods in Shona culture.[30]

Trade
Archaeological evidence suggests that Great Zimbabwe became a
centre for trading, with artefacts[31] suggesting that the city formed
part of a trade network linked to Kilwa[32] and extending as far as
China. Copper coins found at Kilwa Kisiwani appear to be of the
same pure ore found on the Swahili coast.[33] This international
trade was mainly in gold and ivory. That international commerce
was in addition to the local agricultural trade, in which cattle were
especially important.[18] The large cattle herd that supplied the city
moved seasonally and was managed by the court.[24] Chinese
pottery shards, coins from Arabia, glass beads and other non-local
items have been excavated at Zimbabwe. Despite these strong
international trade links, there is no evidence to suggest exchange of Copy of Zimbabwe Bird soapstone
sculpture
architectural concepts between Great Zimbabwe and centres such
as Kilwa.[34]

Decline
The causes for the decline and ultimate abandonment of the site around 1450 have been suggested as due to
a decline in trade compared to sites further north, the exhaustion of the gold mines, political instability and
famine and water shortages induced by climatic change.[18][35] The Mutapa state arose in the 15th century
from the northward expansion of the Great Zimbabwe tradition,[36] having been founded by Nyatsimba
Mutota from Great Zimbabwe after he was sent to find new sources of salt in the north;[37] (this supports
the belief that Great Zimbabwe's decline was due to a shortage of resources). Great Zimbabwe also predates
the Khami and Nyanga cultures.[38]

History of research and origins of the ruins

From Portuguese traders to Karl Mauch

The first European visit may have been made by the Portuguese
traveler António Fernandes in 1513–1515, who crossed twice and
reported in detail the region of present-day Zimbabwe (including
the Shona kingdoms) and also fortified centers in stone without
mortar. However, passing en route a few kilometres north and about
56 km (35 mi) south of the site, he did not make a reference to
Great Zimbabwe.[39][40] Portuguese traders heard about the
remains of the medieval city in the early 16th century, and records
survive of interviews and notes made by some of them, linking
Great Zimbabwe to gold production and long-distance trade.[41]
Two of those accounts mention an inscription above the entrance to
Great Zimbabwe, written in characters not known to the Arab Great Zimbabwe appears on
merchants who had seen it.[16][42] Abraham Ortelius' 1570 map Africae
Tabula Nova, rendered "Simbaoe".
In 1506, the explorer Diogo de Alcáçova described the edifices in a
letter to Manuel I of Portugal, writing that they were part of the
larger kingdom of Ucalanga (presumably Karanga, a dialect of the Shona people spoken mainly in
Masvingo and Midlands provinces of Zimbabwe).[43] João de Barros left another such description of Great
Zimbabwe in 1538, as recounted to him by Moorish traders who had visited the area and possessed
knowledge of the hinterland. He indicates that the edifices were locally known as Symbaoe, which meant
"royal court" in the vernacular.[44] As to the actual identity of the builders of Great Zimbabwe, de Barros
writes:[45]

When and by whom, these edifices were raised, as the people of the land are ignorant of the art of
writing, there is no record, but they say they are the work of the devil,[46] for in comparison with
their power and knowledge it does not seem possible to them that they should be the work of
man.

— João de Barros

Additionally, with regard to the purpose of the Great Zimbabwe ruins, de Barros asserted that: "in the
opinion of the Moors who saw it [Great Zimbabwe] it is very ancient and was built to keep possessions of
the mines, which are very old, and no gold has been extracted from them for years, because of the wars ... it
would seem that some prince who has possession of these mines ordered it to be built as a sign thereof,
which he afterwards lost in the course of time and through their being so remote from his kingdom".[44]
De Barros further remarked that Symbaoe "is guarded by a nobleman, who has charge of it, after the
manner of a chief alcaide, and they call this officer Symbacayo ... and there are always some of
Benomotapa's wives therein of whom Symbacayo takes care." Thus, Great Zimbabwe appears to have still
been inhabited as recently as the early 16th century.[44]

Karl Mauch and the Queen of Sheba

The ruins were rediscovered during a hunting trip in 1867 by Adam Render, a German-American hunter,
prospector and trader in southern Africa,[47] who in 1871 showed the ruins to Karl Mauch, a German
explorer and geographer of Africa. Karl Mauch recorded the ruins 3 September 1871, and immediately
speculated about a possible Biblical association with King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, an
explanation which had been suggested by earlier writers such as the Portuguese João dos Santos. Mauch
went so far as to favour a legend that the structures were built to replicate the palace of the Queen of Sheba
in Jerusalem,[48] and claimed a wooden lintel at the site must be Lebanese cedar, brought by
Phoenicians.[49] The Sheba legend, as promoted by Mauch, became so pervasive in the white settler
community as to cause the later scholar James Theodore Bent to say,

The names of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba were on everybody's lips, and have
become so distasteful to us that we never expect to hear them again without an involuntary
shudder.[50]

Carl Peters and Theodore Bent

Carl Peters collected a ceramic ushabti in 1905. Flinders Petrie
examined it and identified a cartouche on its chest as belonging to
the 18th Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III and suggested
that it was a statuette of the king and cited it as proof of commercial
ties between rulers in the area and the ancient Egyptians during the
New Kingdom (c. 1550–1077 BC), if not a relic of an old Egyptian
station near the local gold mines.[51] Johann Heinrich Schäfer later
appraised the statuette, and argued that it belonged to a well-known The Valley Complex
group of forgeries. After having received the ushabti, Felix von
Luschan suggested that it was of more recent origin than the New
Kingdom. He asserted that the figurine instead appeared to date to the subsequent Ptolemaic era (c. 323–30
BC), when Alexandria-based Greek merchants would export Egyptian antiquities and pseudo-antiquities to
southern Africa.[52]

J. Theodore Bent undertook a season at Zimbabwe with Cecil Rhodes's patronage and funding from the
Royal Geographical Society and the British Association for the Advancement of Science. This, and other
excavations undertaken for Rhodes, resulted in a book publication that introduced the ruins to English
readers. Bent had no formal archaeological training, but had travelled very widely in Arabia, Greece and
Asia Minor. He was aided by the expert cartographer and surveyor Robert M. W. Swan (https://aim25.com/
cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=6569&inst_id=10) (1858–1904), who also visited and surveyed a host of related
stone ruins nearby. Bent stated in the first edition of his book The Ruined Cities of Mashonaland (1892) that
the ruins revealed either the Phoenicians or the Arabs as builders, and he favoured the possibility of great
antiquity for the fortress. By the third edition of his book (1902) he was more specific, with his primary
theory being "a Semitic race and of Arabian origin" of "strongly commercial" traders living within a client
African city.

The Lemba
The construction of Great Zimbabwe is also claimed by the Lemba,
as documented by William Bolts in 1777 (to the Austrian Habsburg
authorities), and by an A.A. Anderson (writing about his travels
north of the Limpopo River in the 19th century). Lemba speak the
Bantu languages spoken by their geographic neighbours and
resemble them physically, but they have some religious practices
Exterior wall of the Great Enclosure.
and beliefs similar to those in Judaism and Islam, which they claim
Picture taken by David Randall-
were transmitted by oral tradition.[53] MacIver in 1906.

David Randall-MacIver and medieval origin

The first scientific archaeological excavations at the site were undertaken by David Randall-MacIver for the
British Association in 1905–1906. In Medieval Rhodesia, he rejected the claims made by Adam Render,
Carl Peters and Karl Mauch, and instead wrote of the existence in the site of objects that were of Bantu
origin. Randall-MacIver concluded that all available evidence led him to believe that the Zimbabwe
structures were constructed by the ancestors of the Shona people.[54][55][56] More importantly he suggested
a wholly medieval date for the walled fortifications and temple. This claim was not immediately accepted,
partly due to the relatively short and undermanned period of excavation he was able to undertake.

Gertrude Caton Thompson

In mid-1929 Gertrude Caton Thompson concluded, after a twelve-
day visit of a three-person team and the digging of several trenches,
that the site was indeed created by Bantu. She had first sunk three
test pits into what had been refuse heaps on the upper terraces of the
hill complex, producing a mix of unremarkable pottery and
ironwork. She then moved to the Conical Tower and tried to dig
under the tower, arguing that the ground there would be
undisturbed, but nothing was revealed. Some further test trenches
were then put down outside the lower Great Enclosure and in the The Hill Complex
Valley Ruins, which unearthed domestic ironwork, glass beads, and
a gold bracelet. Caton Thompson immediately announced her
Bantu origin theory to a meeting of the British Association in Johannesburg.[57]

Examination of all the existing evidence, gathered from every quarter, still can produce not one
single item that is not in accordance with the claim of Bantu origin and medieval date[50]

Caton Thompson's claim was not immediately favoured, although it had strong support among some
scientific archaeologists due to her modern methods. Her most important contribution was in helping to
confirm the theory of a medieval origin for the masonry work of the 14th and 15th centuries. By 1931, she
had modified her Bantu theory somewhat, allowing for a possible Arabian influence for the towers through
the imitation of buildings or art seen at coastal Arabian trading cities.

Post-1945 research
Since the 1950s, there has been consensus among archaeologists as to the African origins of Great
Zimbabwe.[58][59] Artefacts and radiocarbon dating indicate settlement in at least the 5th century, with
continuous settlement of Great Zimbabwe between the 12th and 15th centuries[60] and the bulk of the finds
from the 15th century.[61] The radiocarbon evidence is a suite of 28 measurements, for which all but the
first four, from the early days of the use of that method and now viewed as inaccurate, support the 12th-to-
15th-centuries chronology.[60][62] In the 1970s, a beam that produced some of the anomalous dates in 1952
was reanalysed and gave a 14th-century date.[63] Dated finds such as Chinese, Persian and Syrian artefacts
also support the 12th- and 15th-century dates.[64]

Gokomere
Archaeologists generally agree that the builders probably spoke one of the Shona languages,[65][66] based
upon evidence of pottery,[67][68] oral traditions[61][69] and anthropology[3] and recent scholarship supports
the construction of Great Zimbabwe (and the origin of its culture) by Shona and Venda
peoples,[70][71][72][73] who were probably descended from the Gokomere culture.[62] The Gokomere
culture, an eastern Bantu subgroup, existed in the area from around 200 AD and flourished from 500 AD to
about 800 AD. Archaeological evidence indicates that it constitutes an early phase of the Great Zimbabwe
culture.[9][61][74][75] The Gokomere culture likely gave rise to both the modern Mashona people,[76] an
ethnic cluster comprising distinct sub-ethnic groups such as the local Karanga clan and the Rozwi culture,
which originated as several Shona states.[77] Gokomere peoples were probably also related to certain
nearby early Bantu groups like the Mapungubwe civilisation of neighbouring North eastern South Africa,
which is believed to have been an early Venda-speaking culture, and to the nearby Sotho.

Recent research
More recent archaeological work has been carried out by Peter
Garlake, who has produced the comprehensive descriptions of the
site,[78][79][80] David Beach[3][81][82] and Thomas Huffman,[61][83]
who have worked on the chronology and development of Great
Zimbabwe and Gilbert Pwiti, who has published extensively on
trade links.[18][36][84] Today, the most recent consensus appears to
attribute the construction of Great Zimbabwe to the Shona
people.[85][86] Some evidence also suggests an early influence from
the probably Venda-speaking peoples of the Mapungubwe
civilization.[62]

Damage to the ruins

Damage to the ruins has taken place throughout the last century.
The removal of gold and artefacts in amateurist diggings by early Passageway in the Great Enclosure
colonial antiquarians caused widespread damage,[41] notably
diggings by Richard Nicklin Hall.[50] More extensive damage was
caused by the mining of some of the ruins for gold.[41] Reconstruction attempts since 1980 caused further
damage, leading to alienation of the local communities from the site.[87][88] Another source of damage to
the ruins has been due to the site being open to visitors with many cases of people climbing the walls,
walking over archaeological deposits, and the over-use of certain paths all have had major impacts on the
structures at the site.[87] These are in conjunction with damages due to the natural weathering that occurs
over time due to vegetation growth, the foundations settling, and erosion from the weather.[87]

Political implications
Martin Hall writes that the history of Iron Age research south of the
Zambezi shows the prevalent influence of colonial ideologies, both
in the earliest speculations about the nature of the African past and
in the adaptations that have been made to contemporary
archaeological methodologies.[89] Preben Kaarsholm writes that
both colonial and black nationalist groups invoked Great
Zimbabwe's past to support their vision of the country's present,
through the media of popular history and of fiction. Examples of A closeup of Great Zimbabwe ruins,
2006
such popular history include Alexander Wilmot's Monomotapa
(Rhodesia) and Ken Mufuka's Dzimbahwe: Life and Politics in the
Golden Age; examples from fiction include Wilbur Smith's The Sunbird and Stanlake Samkange's Year of
the Uprising.[41]

When white colonialists like Cecil Rhodes first saw the ruins, they saw them as a sign of the great riches
that the area would yield to its new masters.[41] Pikirayi and Kaarsholm suggest that this presentation of
Great Zimbabwe was partly intended to encourage settlement and investment in the area.[41][90] Gertrude
Caton-Thompson recognised that the builders were indigenous Africans, but she characterised the site as the
"product of an infantile mind" built by a subjugated society.[91][92][93] The official line in Rhodesia during
the 1960s and 1970s was that the structures were built by non-blacks. Archaeologists who disputed the
official statement were censored by the government.[94] According to Paul Sinclair, interviewed for None
But Ourselves:[7]

I was the archaeologist stationed at Great Zimbabwe. I was told by the then-director of the
Museums and Monuments organisation to be extremely careful about talking to the press about
the origins of the [Great] Zimbabwe state. I was told that the museum service was in a difficult
situation, that the government was pressurising them to withhold the correct information.
Censorship of guidebooks, museum displays, school textbooks, radio programmes, newspapers
and films was a daily occurrence. Once a member of the Museum Board of Trustees threatened
me with losing my job if I said publicly that blacks had built Zimbabwe. He said it was okay to
say the yellow people had built it, but I wasn't allowed to mention radio carbon dates ... It was the
first time since Germany in the thirties that archaeology has been so directly censored.

This suppression of archaeology culminated in the departure from the country of prominent archaeologists
of Great Zimbabwe, including Peter Garlake, Senior Inspector of Monuments for Rhodesia, and Roger
Summers of the National Museum.[95]
To black nationalist groups, Great Zimbabwe became an important
symbol of achievement by Africans: reclaiming its history was a
major aim for those seeking majority rule. In 1980 the new
internationally recognised independent country was renamed for the
site, and its famous soapstone bird carvings were retained from the
Rhodesian flag and Coat of Arms as a national symbol and depicted
in the new Zimbabwean flag. After the creation of the modern state The Zimbabwe Bird, depicted on
Zimbabwe's flag
of Zimbabwe in 1980, Great Zimbabwe has been employed to
mirror and legitimise shifting policies of the ruling regime. At first it
was argued that it represented a form of pre-colonial "African
socialism" and later the focus shifted to stressing the natural
evolution of an accumulation of wealth and power within a ruling
elite.[96] An example of the former is Ken Mufuka's booklet,[97]
although the work has been heavily criticised.[41][98] A tower of the
Great Zimbabwe is also depicted on the coat of arms of Zimbabwe.

Some of the carvings had been taken from Great Zimbabwe around
1890 and sold to Cecil Rhodes, who was intrigued and had copies
made which he gave to friends. Most of the carvings have now
been returned to Zimbabwe, but one remains at Rhodes' old home,
Groote Schuur, in Cape Town.
The Zimbabwe Bird, depicted on
Rhodesia's coat of arms
The Great Zimbabwe University
In the early 21st century, the government of Zimbabwe endorsed the creation of a university in the vicinity
of the ruins. This university is an arts and culture based university which draws from the rich history of the
monuments. The university main site is near the monuments with other campuses in the City centre and
Mashava. The campuses include Herbet Chitepo Law School, Robert Mugabe School of Education, Gary
Magadzire School of Agriculture and Natural Science, Simon Muzenda School of Arts, and Munhumutapa
School of Commerce.

Gallery

The Conical Tower The Great Enclosure

Wood carving at the entrance of the

Great Zimbabwe
 The Great Enclosure (close) The Great Enclosure (far)

The Hill Complex from the Valley Wooden lintel in doorway

See also
Other ruins in Zimbabwe
Bumbusi
Danangombe
Naletale
Khami
Ziwa
Leopard's Kopje
Related ruins outside Zimbabwe
Manyikeni – a Mozambiquean archaeological site believed to be part of the Great
Zimbabwe tradition of architecture
Similar ruins outside Zimbabwe
Blaauboschkraal stone ruins in Mpumalanga, South Africa
Machadodorp baKoni Ruins in Mpumalanga, South Africa
Engaruka in Arusha Region, Tanzania
Kweneng' Ruins in Gauteng, South Africa
 Mapungubwe in Limpopo, South Africa
Thimlich Ohinga stone ruins in Migori County, Kenya
Megaliths

Notes
1. Pikirayi, Innocent (2013). "Great Zimbabwe in Historical Archaeology: Reconceptualizing
Decline, Abandonment, and Reoccupation of an Ancient Polity, A.D. 1450–1900" (https://ww
w.researchgate.net/publication/287608347). Historical Archaeology. 47: 26–37.
doi:10.1007/BF03376887 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF03376887). hdl:2263/59176 (https://
hdl.handle.net/2263%2F59176). S2CID 59380130 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusI
D:59380130).
2. Pikirayi, Innocent; Sulas, Federica; Chirikure, Shadreck; Chikumbirike, Joseph; Sagiya,
Munyaradzi Elton (January 2023). "The Conundrum of Great Zimbabwe" (https://www.brepol
sonline.net/doi/abs/10.1484/J.JUA.5.133452). Journal of Urban Archaeology. 7: 95–114.
doi:10.1484/J.JUA.5.133452 (https://doi.org/10.1484%2FJ.JUA.5.133452). ISSN 2736-2426
(https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2736-2426). Retrieved 1 December 2023.
3. Beach, David (1998). "Cognitive Archaeology and Imaginary History at Great Zimbabwe".
Current Anthropology. 39: 47–72. doi:10.1086/204698 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F204698).
S2CID 143970768 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143970768).
4. "Great Zimbabwe (11th–15th century) – Thematic Essay" (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/h
d/zimb/hd_zimb.htm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
5. "Great Zimbabwe: African City of Stone" (https://www.livescience.com/58200-great-zimbabw
e.html). Live Science. 10 March 2017.
6. Fleminger, David (2008). Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape (https://books.google.com/book
s?id=pp2VcW9_Z4QC&q=white+great+zimbabwe&pg=PA61). 30 Degrees South. p. 57.
ISBN 978-0-9584891-5-7.
7. Frederikse, Julie (1990) [1982]. "(1) Before the war". None But Ourselves. Biddy Partridge
(photographer). Harare: Oral Traditions Association of Zimbabwe with Anvil Press. pp. 10–
11. ISBN 0-7974-0961-0.
8. M. Sibanda, H. Moyana et al. 1992. The African Heritage. History for Junior Secondary
Schools. Book 1. Zimbabwe Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-908300-00-6
9. Shadreck Chirikure; Innocent Pikirayi (2008). "Inside and outside the dry stone walls:
revisiting the material culture of Great Zimbabwe" (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0003598X00
097726). Antiquity. 82 (318): 976–993. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00097726 (https://doi.org/10.
1017%2FS0003598X00097726).
10. Newitt, M. D. D. (2002). East Africa. Vol. 2. Ashgate. p. 39. ISBN 0754601811.
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External links
Great Zimbabwe Ruins (http://www.greatzimbabweruins.com)
Great Zimbabwe entry (https://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=364) on the UNESCO
World Heritage site

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