Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe

An Ancient City The ancient city of Great Zimbabwe was once rich and powerful. Now the city is empty. Its ruins give us some clues about what life was like there. However, there are still many mysteries about the people who once lived there.

Where Is It? The ruins of Great Zimbabwe are in the southeastern part of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a country in southern Africa. It is north of the country of South Africa. It is west of Mozambique.

Who Built It? At first, European explorers were not sure who built Great Zimbabwe. However, experts can now prove that local people built the great city. Both works of art and the way that the walls were built help prove this fact. Most people think that the builders were a tribe called the Shona. The word Zimbabwe is thought to mean “ stone houses" in the Shona language.

Building the Walls Builders used stone bricks to build the walls of Great Zimbabwe. First, they split huge rocks in the countryside to make bricks.

Then, they stacked the bricks to build high walls. They did not use anything to hold the stones together. However, the stones fit together tightly. The walls are well built. In some places, huge rocks form part of the walls. The walls of Great Zimbabwe are curved instead of straight.