Great Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe is an important place in Africa. Hundreds of years ago it was a big city. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. This kingdom included the River Zambezi in the north, the Transvaal in the south and Botswana in the east.

The people who lived at Great Zimbabwe were rich merchants who controlled trade between the coast and inland Africa. The modern country of Zimbabwe is named after Great Zimbabwe. In English the city's name means 'the great city built of stones'.

Between 12,000 and 20,000 people lived at Great Zimbabwe. About 1000 years ago they began to build their town in stone. Archaeologists have found goods from as far as China that were used by the people. This shows they bought and sold things over great distances. The city covered 720 hectares but had stopped growing when traders from Portugal came to southern Africa 500 years ago. Nobody is sure why Great Zimbabwe was stopped. It could have been due to drought or sickness.

Europeans at first thought that Great Zimbabwe had been built by foreigners. Now we know it was built by the local people. People who have studied the site have learned much about old Africa.

Great Zimbabwe has been made a World Heritage Site because it is so big and important. The walls of the city are the biggest stone structure made by man, after the Pyramids at Giza.