Great Zimbabwe

“A city of stone raised without a drop of mortar”

Open in Google Maps

Go deeper↓

Photo: Fanny Schertzer · CC BY 3.0

Scenes

The solid conical tower rising within the curving enclosure wall — The solid-built conical towerandryn2006 · CC BY-SA 2.0

Stone walls merging with the granite boulders of the hill — Stone walls flowing into the hill's bouldersFanny Schertzer · CC BY 3.0

Meaning

Hand-dressed granite interlocks course upon course without mortar, curving away in a long gentle arc. Step within the walls and the solid conical tower stands in silence, the stacked stone and the boulders of the hill flowing together as one.

Called in Shona 'houses of stone' (dzimba dza mabwe), the site is held to have been the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe that flourished from the 11th to 15th centuries, and the largest stone ruin in southern Africa. Its mortarless granite walls and conical tower are understood as a seat honoring kingship and the ancestors, and the soapstone 'Zimbabwe Birds' found here became the emblem of the nation. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Field notes

Location: Masvingo · Zimbabwe · S20.3° · E30.9°
Best time: The clear light of the dry season (May–September), when the valley opens out below the hilltop ruins
Getting there: About 30 km southeast of Masvingo, Zimbabwe; reached by road to walk the Hill Complex and the Great Enclosure.
Etiquette: Regarded as a seat of the ancestors; keep to the marked paths and do not tread on or move the stones.

Sources

· UNESCO World Heritage
· Encyclopaedia Britannica

UNESCO World Heritage Wikipedia

Photographs are freely licensed works from Wikimedia Commons and similar sources; the author and license appear beneath each image.