Great Zimbabwe: Facts
On this page you can find ten
quick facts about the Great Zimbabwe ruins.
1. One of the legends associated with the ruins is that it
was a playground of giants.
2. It is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site since 1986.
3. There was no mortar used at
all in this massive construction.
4. The Great Zimbabwe ruins
sit on an area of 1780 acres (exactly 722 hectares).
5. It is believed that a
maximum of 20,000 people lived inside its walls at its height.
6. For many decades, the ruins at Great Zimbabwe were described,
by Europeans, as a perplexing 'mystery' and an ancient 'riddle,'.
They refused to believe that such a complex site was built by
Africans who they considered to be lower people and attributed the site’s construction to foreign
sources.
7. It was the center of the Kingdom of Mutapa.
8. Although the reasons of its decline are not certain, Great
Zimbabwe was affected by environmental reasons like droughts for an extended period of time.
9. The Great Zimbabwe and the culture that flourished inside its
walls declined by the 15th century.
10. The first European visitors arrived at the ruins in
1868.
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