Lecture 10: Great Zimbabwe

Map of southern Africa with location of the Zimbabwe Plateau and Great

Zimbabwe. At its height ca. 1250-ca. 1450, Great Zimbabwe was the

largest and most important of several similar sites on the Zimbabwe

plateau. It was preceded by Mapungubwe.

General View of Great Zimbabwe

Plan of Great Zimbabwe, showing the location of the Great Enclosure, Valley Enclosures, and dare or open court area. The areas of daga

huts (marked ^^) are where most of the population lived. (“Acropolis” here refers to the Hill Complex

Labeled plan of Great Zimbabwe showing the location of the Hill Complex (with Eastern and Western Enclosures) and the major

enclosures of the Valley.

There is no evidence the enclosures were roofed, nor that they served a defensive function. Instead, they were primarily markers of

status that separated the ruler and elite from the general population. They contained residences and ritual sites.

Aerial or bird’s eye view of Great Enclosure and Upper Valley Enclosures.

There is no evidence the enclosures were roofed, nor that they served a defensive function. Instead, they were primarily markers of

status that separated the ruler and elite from the general population. They contained residences and ritual sites.

Plan of the Hill Complex. The Western

Enclosure on the Hill was likely the residence of

the ruler.

View of Hill Complex enclosure walls with Phase 1 stonework

This view demonstrate how the enclosures abut, run over, and incorporate some of the natural boulders of the Hill, suggesting how

architecture extends and recreates the forms of the spiritually charged landscape. In Shona culture, the land belongs to the ancestors,

and the ruler or king is its custodian in their name. The stone enclosures, associated with the ruler, make visible this rela tionship and

manifest his authority.

Phase 1 is the earliest phase of stonework, marked by wavy, irregular courses of dressed stone

View of the Eastern Enclosure of the Hill Complex,

possibly a center of ritual. The soapstone bird sculptures,

found at this site, echo the form of the boulder above.

Two of the eight large ‘birds’ carved as the finials of long

monoliths (approximately 2 meters tall) found in the Hill

Complex. Soapstone.

Archaeological plans of the Maund Ruin. Above, plan of stone

walls only. What appeared to be random pieces of wall originally connected

and enclosed numerous dwellings and gathering spaces with

platforms, all built out of daga.

Archaeological plans of the Maund Ruin. reconstruction plan of stone walls and daga huts

as revealed by excavations of Gertrude Caton-Thompson in 1929.

What appeared to be random pieces of wall originally connected

and enclosed numerous dwellings and gathering spaces with

platforms, all built out of daga.

Great Zimbabwe: Great Enclosure

View of doorway in Great Enclosure with refined

stonework (Phase 2). Narrow opening and high threshold

suggest restriction of access

View of Exterior wall of Great Enclosure showing Phase 2 Stonework (most

regular, even courses of dressed stone), battered profile, and chevron

frieze at top.

Building material was granite from surrounding land. With the rapid

changes in temperature characteristic of this region, the stone flaked

naturally into brick-like blocks that could be used to construct the dry-

stone walls.

Plan of the Great Enclosur

View of the Conical Tower in the Great Enclosure

Conical Tower and adjacent platform within the Great Enclosure were likely a ritual site. Conical Tower resembles

a grain bin (silo) but is solid inside. The walls and towers would have conveyed the power of the ruler and elite to

command and organize the labor necessary to build such impressive structures. The precise function of the Great

Enclosure is still debated but seems to have housed the elite and been connected with elite rituals.

View of passage in the Great Enclosure

Narrow entrances and passageways suggest a desire to restrict and filter access to the ruler and

elites.

view of doorway in the Western Enclosure, Hill Complex

Narrow entrances and passageways suggest a desire to restrict and filter access to the ruler and

elites.