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Great Zimbabwe building period

Type Event Region Southern Africa Time 1371–1380

The 1370s fell in the later middle phase of the Great Enclosure's main construction, when Shona civilization peaked and trade wealth from gold and iv…

Timeline

  1. 1371–1375Great Enclosure · ZimbabweCraftsmen dry-laid granite without mortar, raising and thickening the Great Enclosure's oval outer wall into Southern Africa's most spectacular prehistoric stone structure; interior passages and living units were expanded in step, showing elite population growth and increasingly elaborate political-ritual activity.
  2. 1376–1380Conical Tower, Great Enclosure · ZimbabweThe Conical Tower on the southwest side of the Great Enclosure was completed in this period, becoming a religious and political symbol of Shona kingship. Rulers held ceremonies here related to ancestor worship and rain-deity sacrifice, consolidating suzerainty over dependent settlements across the Zimbabwe Plateau.
  3. 1371–1380Sofala trade route · MozambiqueGold and ivory from the Zimbabwe Plateau were carried overland to Sofala port, then transshipped to Swahili city-states such as Kilwa, finally entering the Indian Ocean world trade system. Trade revenues supplied labor organization and materials for stone construction, making Great Zimbabwe the peak of medieval Southern African civilization.

Sources