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An early European explorer described it:
"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.--Viçente Pegado, Captain, Portuguese Garrison of Sofala, 1531
Built consistently throughout the period from the years AD 400 to the 15th century, the ruins at Great Zimbabwe are the oldest and largest structures located in Sub-Saharan Africa. At its peak, estimates are that the ruins of Great Zimbabwe had as many as 18,000 inhabitants.
Built entirely of stone (those parts that survive), the ruins span 1,800 acres (7 km²) and cover a radius of 100 to 200 miles (160 to 320 km). The ruins can be broken down into three distinct architectural groups. They are known as the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex and the famous Great Enclosure. Over 300 structures have been located so far in the Great Enclosure.
Estimates are that the earliest residents of Great Zimbabwe, the Shona people, started living there around 400 AD. Construction and occupation of the city continued through the 15th century. The type of stone structures found on the site give an indication of the status of the citizenry. Structures that were more elaborate were built for the kings and situated further away from the center of the city. It is thought that this was done in order to escape sleeping sickness.
What little evidence exists, suggests that that Great Zimbabwe also became a center for trading.
Nobody knows for sure knows why the site was eventually abandoned. Perhaps it was due to drought, perhaps due to disease or it simply could be that the decline in the goldFor alternative meanings, see gold (disambiguation Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au ( L. aurum and atomic number 79. A soft, shiny, yellow, heavy, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold d trade forced the people who inhabited Great Zimbabwe to look for greener pastures.
It was traders from PortugalRepublica Portuguesa ( In Detail) National motto: None Official language Portuguese 3 Capital Lisbon President Jorge Sampaio Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes Area Total % water World ranking: 109th 92,391 km²0. 5 % Population Total ( 2004) Density World who were the first foreigners to come to the remains of the ancient city in the early 16th century15th century 16th century 17th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. Events Beginning of the " Little Ice Age" a cooling period that resulted in lower crop yi. In the 19th centuryAlternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical ( 18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801- 1900. Events The Little Ice Age ended, after the ruins were stumbled on by Adam Renders in 1868Events January 3 Meiji Emperor declares " Meiji Restoration", his own restoration to full power, against the supporters of the Tokugawa Shogunate. January 10 Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu declares emperor's declaration "illegal" and attacks Kyoto. Pro-Emperor and reported on by Karl MauchKarl Gottlieb Mauch ( May 7, 1837 April 4, 1875) was a German explorer of Africa. He reported on the archaeological ruins of Great Zimbabwe in 1871. Due to the culture-bound paradigm of ethnocentrism that was popular in the 19th century, Mauch and his con in 1871Events January January 18 The member-states of the North German Confederation unite into a single nation-state known as the German Empire. The King of Prussia is declared the first German Emperor as Wilhelm I of Germany. January 28 France surrenders to en, they became well known to English readers from J. Theodore Bent's season at Zimbabwe, under Rhodes' patronage. Bent, whose archaeological experience had all been in GreeceGreece formally called the Hellenic Republic (in Greek: ) Hellenike Demokratia , is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It is bounded on land by Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania and Asia Minor, stated that the ruins revealed their builders, the Phoenicians. Even after his account of the Ruined Cities of Mashonaland was published, theories as to their origin abounded, with one element in common: they could not have been built by the Bantu; they must have some Mediterranean or Biblical connection. Mauch had favored the Queen of Sheba. These speculations were dispelled by the first scientific archaeologic dig at the site, undertaken in 1905. It is now universally accepted that Great Zimbabwe was built by Africans whose descendants now live in Southern Africa, if not entirely in Zimbabwe.
A soapstone carving of a bird picked up in The Great Zimbabwe by an early European visitor was sold to Cecil Rhodes, who was intrigued by it, had copies made which he gave to friends, and even had large versions set up as gateposts at home in Cambridgeshire.
The Great Zimbabwe is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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