Great Zimbabwe Stone Structures

Timeline

1. c. 1001–1100Great Zimbabwe hills · ZimbabweIn the early 11th century local elites began building dry-stone walled enclosures on granite hills, marking Great Zimbabwe's transformation from an Iron Age settlement into a regional power center.
2. c. 1100–1300Great Zimbabwe conical tower · ZimbabweIn the 12th–13th centuries the hill enclosures and conical tower structures were expanded, with dry-stone walls over ten meters high; the conical tower became a symbolic building of the Zimbabwe Kingdom's religion and royal power.
3. c. 1300–1400Great Zimbabwe valley ruins · ZimbabweIn the 14th century Great Zimbabwe reached its peak, with the valley ruins housing thousands of residents, connecting through gold and ivory trade to Swahili ports on the Indian Ocean coast, and its buildings continually expanding in scale.
4. c. 1450Great Zimbabwe site · ZimbabweAround the mid-15th century the political center moved north and Great Zimbabwe gradually fell into ruin; the stone structures remained in place, becoming an archaeological witness to medieval civilization in southern Africa.