Great Zimbabwe was a city located in the southeastern hills of modern-day Zimbabwe, near Masvingo. It was first settled around 1000 CE and became the capital of the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe in the 13th century. It is the largest stone structure built in Southern Africa before European colonization. Major construction of the city began in the 11th century and continued until the 15th century. The city was abandoned in the 16th or 17th century. The buildings were constructed by ancestors of the Shona people, who live in Zimbabwe and nearby countries today. The stone city covers an area of 7.22 square kilometers (2.79 square miles). Estimates of its population vary. Earlier studies suggested the city had a peak population of about 20,000 people. A more recent study using archaeological, ethnographic, and historical evidence, along with statistical modeling, suggests the population likely did not exceed 10,000 people. The kingdom centered on Great Zimbabwe probably covered an area of 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 square miles). UNESCO recognizes the site as a World Heritage Site.

The site includes three main areas: the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex, and the Great Enclosure, which were built at different times. The city also had space for commoner housing within its walls. Scholars disagree on the exact functions of these areas. Some believe they were homes for royalty and elites during different periods, while others think they had separate purposes. The Great Enclosure, with its 11-meter (36-foot) high dry stone walls (built without mortar), was constructed during the 13th and 14th centuries. It likely served as the royal residence and included public spaces for rituals.

The first confirmed visits by Europeans occurred in the late 19th century, with studies of the site beginning in 1871. Between the 1890s and 1920s, European collectors took artifacts from Great Zimbabwe and nearby areas. Later research on the site was controversial because the government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) pressured archaeologists to claim the city was not built by Black Africans. By the 1950s, it was widely accepted that the site was built by African people. Today, Great Zimbabwe is a national monument of Zimbabwe, and the modern country was named after it.

The word "Great" distinguishes this site from smaller ruins called "zimbabwes," or "houses of stone," found across the Zimbabwe Highveld. More than 400 similar sites have been identified in Southern Africa, such as Bumbusi in Zimbabwe and Manyikeni in Mozambique, all featuring large, mortarless stone walls.

Name

Zimbabwe is the Shona name for the ruins, first written about in 1531 by Vicente Pegado, a leader in the Portuguese military group stationed in Sofala. Pegado wrote that the people of the area called the buildings "Symbaoe," which in their language means "court."

The word "Zimbabwe" includes "dzimba," the Shona word for "houses." There are two possible explanations for how the name came to be. One idea is that it comes from "Dzimba-dze-mabwe," which in Shona means "large houses of stone" ("dzimba" means "houses" and "mabwe" means "stone"). Another idea is that "Zimbabwe" is a shortened version of "dzimba-hwe," which in the Zezuru dialect of Shona means "venerated houses" (used to describe homes or burial places of important leaders).

History and description

The Great Zimbabwe area was first settled by the San people, who lived there about 100,000 years ago. Around 150 BCE, Bantu-speaking people arrived and began farming and forming chiefdoms starting in the 4th century CE. Between the 4th and 7th centuries, groups from the Gokomere or Ziwa cultures farmed the valley, mined iron, and worked with it, but did not build stone structures. These are the oldest known Iron Age settlements in the area found through archaeological digs. Later, the Gumanye people are believed to be the ancestors of the Karanga (a group of the Shona people), who built Great Zimbabwe.

Stone buildings were constructed starting in the 11th century and continued for over 300 years. Farming and raising cattle helped create strong social networks and allowed leaders to manage resources within their communities. Long-distance trade was important for turning local groups into larger, regional ones. Rulers used wealth to build homes with thick daga (a type of earthen material) instead of daga and poles, and built stone walls to protect their homes from public view. This process sped up in the 13th century, leading to the creation of large dry-stone walls.

The ruins at Great Zimbabwe are among the oldest and largest structures in Southern Africa. Its most famous structure, the Great Enclosure, has walls as high as 11 meters (36 feet) and stretches about 250 meters (820 feet). Its growth is linked to the decline of Mapungubwe around 1300 or the increased availability of gold in the area. The political and religious ideas of Great Zimbabwe helped the king (called mambo) gain power by connecting leaders, ancestors, and God. According to Ken Mufuka, the shrine in the Hill Complex was home to spirit mediums (svikiro) who guided the state and preserved traditions started by leaders like Chigwagu Rusvingo, Chaminuka, Chimurenga, Tovera, and Soro-rezhou.

Traditional estimates suggest Great Zimbabwe had up to 18,000 people at its peak, but recent research suggests the population likely never reached more than 10,000. The ruins cover 730 hectares (1,800 acres), an area similar to medieval London. While buildings were densely packed in the stone enclosures, areas outside had fewer structures. Most people lived in homes made of mud and wood, though the exact number of these homes is unknown. Stone structures were likely used by rulers or officials. No burial sites have been found to help estimate the population.

In 1531, Vicente Pegado, a Portuguese officer in Sofala, described Great Zimbabwe as having a fortress made of large stones with no mortar. He noted that the structure was surrounded by hills with similar buildings and a tower over 22 meters (72 feet) high. The local people called these structures "Symbaoe," meaning "court" in their language.

The ruins are divided into three main groups: the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex, and the Great Enclosure. The Hill Complex is the oldest and was used 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. Features of the Hill Complex include the Eastern Enclosure, where the Zimbabwe Birds may have stood, a high balcony overlooking the Eastern Enclosure, and a large boulder shaped like the Zimbabwe Bird. The Great Enclosure has an inner wall, structures inside, and a younger outer wall. A conical tower, 5.5 meters (18 feet) wide and 9 meters (30 feet) tall, was built between the walls. The Valley Complex is split into Upper and Lower Valley Ruins, each with different periods of use.

Archaeologists have different ideas about the purpose of these areas. Some believe the complexes were built by different kings, with power moving from the Hill Complex to the Great Enclosure and then to the Valley Complex. Others think the Hill Complex was for rituals, the Valley Complex for common people, and the Great Enclosure for the king. More elaborate structures may have been for kings, though evidence does not fully support this view.

Dhaka pits were used by Great Zimbabwe’s people as water sources, including reservoirs, wells, and springs. These pits may have been used as early as the mid-2nd millennium CE and could hold over 18,000 cubic meters (640,000 cubic feet) of water.

The most important artifacts found at Great Zimbabwe are the eight Zimbabwe Birds, carved from micaceous schist (a type of soapstone) on monoliths as tall as a person. Slots in the Eastern Enclosure of the Hill Complex may have been designed to hold these monoliths, but the birds were not found in their original positions. Other items include soapstone figurines, pottery, iron gongs, ivory, copper wire, iron hoes, bronze spearheads, copper ingots, crucibles, gold jewelry, and foreign items like Chinese porcelain and glass beads from Persia. These show Great Zimbabwe’s connections to international trade.

Great Zimbabwe became a major trading center after Mapungubwe declined around 1300. Trade networks extended as far north as the Kundelungu Plateau in present-day DR Congo. Much of the kingdom’s wealth came from controlling trade routes between the goldfields of the Zimbabwean Plateau and the Swahili coast. Traders used rivers like the Save and Runde, possibly in canoes, and exported gold and ivory through Swahili city-states like Sofala. These cities linked African trade with merchants across the Indian Ocean. Local trade, especially in cattle, was also important. The large cattle herd was managed by the court and moved seasonally. Artifacts like Chinese pottery, Arabian coins, and 14th- to 15th-century ceramics (such as Longquan green-glazed stoneware and blue-and-white porcelain) have been found, showing trade with distant regions.

History of research and origins of the ruins

There has been much discussion about the origins of Great Zimbabwe, a topic known as the "Zimbabwe controversy." In the past, some people in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, believed it was impossible for local African people to have built the structures. Instead, they claimed that items like Persian bowls and Chinese pottery found at the site were from earlier settlements before the Bantu arrived. The colonial government encouraged archaeologists to ignore the idea that Africans built Great Zimbabwe, as accepting this would have challenged their belief in a "civilizing mission." For many years, historians focused on incorrect theories that credited the builders to groups like Jews, Arabs, or Phoenicians, rather than the Shona people. It was not until the 1950s that most experts agreed the site was built by Africans.

The first known European to visit the area may have been the Portuguese traveler António Fernandes between 1513 and 1515. He described the region, including the Shona kingdoms, and noted stone buildings without mortar. However, he did not mention Great Zimbabwe directly. Portuguese traders learned about the ruins in the early 1500s, and some recorded that the site was linked to gold mining and trade. Two accounts described an inscription at the entrance to Great Zimbabwe written in characters unfamiliar to Arab merchants.

In 1506, the explorer Diogo de Alcáçova wrote to King Manuel I of Portugal, describing the structures as part of the kingdom of Ucalanga, likely a Shona dialect. In 1538, João de Barros, based on reports from Moorish traders, noted that locals called the site "Symbaoe," meaning "royal court." He wrote that the people of the area did not know who built the ruins, but some believed they were made by the devil because they seemed too advanced for humans. De Barros also suggested the ruins were built to store gold and that a nobleman guarded the site.

Great Zimbabwe was rediscovered in 1867 by Adam Render, a German-American hunter, who showed it to Karl Mauch, a German explorer, in 1871. Mauch dismissed the idea that Africans built the ruins and proposed a connection to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, a theory previously suggested by Portuguese writers. He claimed a wooden beam at the site was Lebanese cedar brought by Phoenicians. This idea became popular among white settlers.

After Mauch's visit, looters, including those working for W.G. Neal's Ancient Ruins Company, removed artifacts from the site. Some items, like a soapstone bird, were stolen or hidden. Carl Peters collected a ceramic figurine in 1905, which some believed was from ancient Egypt. However, later experts argued it was a fake.

In the 1890s, J. Theodore Bent, with funding from Cecil Rhodes and scientific groups, studied Great Zimbabwe. He had no formal training in archaeology and damaged the site by digging in the Great Enclosure, making it hard for future researchers to study the ruins. Bent claimed the builders were either Phoenicians or Arabs, but later suggested a Semitic people from Arabia.

The Lemba people, a group in southern Africa, also claim a connection to Great Zimbabwe. This was recorded by William Bolts in 1777 and later by A.A. Anderson in the 19th century. The Lemba speak Bantu languages like their neighbors but have some religious practices similar to those of Jewish people.

Political implications

Martin Hall explains that research about the Iron Age in southern Africa has been strongly influenced by ideas from colonial times. These ideas affected early thoughts about Africa's past and also shaped how archaeologists work today. Preben Kaarsholm writes that both colonial groups and black nationalist groups used the history of Great Zimbabwe to support their views about the country's future. Popular history books about this time include Monomotapa (Rhodesia) by Alexander Wilmot and Dzimbahwe: Life and Politics in the Golden Age by Ken Mufuka. Fiction books that reference Great Zimbabwe include The Sunbird by Wilbur Smith and Year of the Uprising by Stanlake Samkange.

When white colonialists like Cecil Rhodes saw the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, they believed they showed the area's wealth and potential for future control. Pikirayi and Kaarsholm suggest that this view helped encourage people to move to the area and invest in it. Gertrude Caton-Thompson recognized that the builders of Great Zimbabwe were African people, but she described the site as the "product of an infantile mind" made by a society that was not fully developed. During the 1960s and 1970s in Rhodesia, the official story was that the structures were built by non-black people. Archaeologists who disagreed with this were silenced by the government.

Paul Sinclair, who worked as an archaeologist at Great Zimbabwe, said in an interview: "I was told not to speak to the press about the origins of the Zimbabwe state. The government pressured museums and schools to hide the truth. Books, displays, and films were often censored. A member of the Museum Board even threatened me with losing my job if I said blacks built Zimbabwe. He said it was okay to say 'yellow people' built it, but I could not mention scientific evidence like carbon dating. This was the first time since the 1930s that archaeology was censored so directly."

This censorship led to the departure of important archaeologists, including Peter Garlake, Senior Inspector of Monuments for Rhodesia, and Roger Summers of the National Museum.

For black nationalist groups, Great Zimbabwe became a powerful symbol of African achievement. Reclaiming its history was a key goal for those fighting for majority rule. In 1980, when the new country of Zimbabwe gained independence, it was named after the site. The famous soapstone bird carvings from the Rhodesian flag were kept as a national symbol and appear on Zimbabwe's new flag. After Zimbabwe became independent, Great Zimbabwe was used to support different government policies. At first, it was said to represent a form of pre-colonial "African socialism," and later, the focus changed to show how wealth and power grew within a ruling group. An example of the first view is Ken Mufuka's booklet, though it was criticized. A tower of Great Zimbabwe is also shown on Zimbabwe's coat of arms.

Some carvings from Great Zimbabwe were taken around 1890 and given to Cecil Rhodes. He made copies to give to friends. Most of the carvings have been returned to Zimbabwe, but one remains at Rhodes' home, Groote Schuur, in Cape Town.

Local perspectives

Local stories about Great Zimbabwe are similar, even though different groups claim the site. These stories express sadness about how European researchers and professional archaeologists treated the area as sacred, damaging it and taking artifacts. People believe the government is responsible for keeping Great Zimbabwe closed and not speaking about it, because they refuse to recognize that ancestors and Mwari have ownership and control over the site.

For many local communities, Great Zimbabwe is not just a forgotten place from the past, but a living area connected to their spiritual beliefs and ways of making a living. However, some researchers say that archaeologists often have more influence because they use scientific methods and claim to be objective. This leads to archaeologists' views being more important, making local perspectives feel ignored. Because of this, the monument is usually seen as a historical archaeological site, rather than a place that still holds meaning for local communities.

Great Zimbabwe Hotel

In 1902, during the colonial period, the Great Zimbabwe Hotel was built to provide lodging for Rhodesians and other Europeans visiting the Great Zimbabwe Monuments. The hotel is located within the cultural landscape of Great Zimbabwe and has been involved in ongoing disagreements between the hotel’s management, the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ), and nearby local communities. At first, the hotel was only for Europeans, and Africans were not allowed to enter the hotel or visit the monuments. Local people were often stopped from moving through the hotel grounds, with access sometimes denied based on their clothing, appearance, or social position. Villagers carrying items, wearing shorts, sandals, worn clothing, or traditional clothing for performances were frequently turned away.

Relations between the hotel and the monuments were more cooperative during the 1980s and 1990s, when both were managed by European staff. During this time, staff from the monuments were welcomed at the hotel and sometimes given free meals and access to facilities. Tensions grew after monument management changed to African leaders. Disputes arose over access paths, use of resources, and developments in the archaeological area, such as building campsites and septic tanks without consulting the NMMZ. Buses carrying visitors to the monuments were also rerouted to avoid the hotel grounds because passengers made loud noises or sang loudly when arriving.

Great Zimbabwe University

In the early 21st century, the government of Zimbabwe approved the creation of a university near the ruins. This university focuses on arts and culture, drawing from the history of the monuments. The main campus is located near the ruins, while other campuses are in the city center 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.