Great Zimbabwe: The African Stone City They Tried to Erase From History

When people think of massive stone walls, the first stop is usually the Great Wall of China. But here’s the plot twist: Africa has not one, but several great walls of its own. From the mind-blowing Walls of Benin in Nigeria (which once stretched for over 16,000 kilometres!) to the stunning stone enclosures of Great Zimbabwe, Africans have been building monumental walls long before colonial powers showed up with their propagandist playbooks that state otherwise.

Today, we zoom into one of those marvels: Great Zimbabwe, a ruined stone city so advanced and majestic that Europeans couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea that Africans built it.

Spoiler: we did.

What Is Great Zimbabwe?

Great Zimbabwe sits in present-day southeastern Zimbabwe, built between the 11th and 15th centuries. At its height, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe, housing tens of thousands of people and acting as a political, religious, and trade hub. The word “Zimbabwe” itself comes from the Shona phrase dzimba dza mabwe “, houses of stone.” No exaggeration there. The site is made up entirely of dry stone walls, constructed without mortar, some soaring as high as 11 meters (36 feet).

The complex has three main sections:

• The Hill Complex. The royal citadel and spiritual seat.

• The Great Enclosure. The largest ancient stone structure in sub-Saharan Africa.

• The Valley Ruins. Residential and industrial areas.

Put simply, this wasn’t a random pile of rocks. This was a stone metropolis engineered with precision, symbolism, and serious ambition.

The Kingdom That Traded Across the World

Great Zimbabwe wasn’t a closed-off kingdom. It was plugged into the medieval global economy. Archaeologists have uncovered Chinese porcelain, Persian glassware, and Arab coins inside the ruins. Translation? These guys were connected to Asia and the Middle East centuries before European explorers even set sail. Gold was their main export. Sitting near rich mines, Great Zimbabwe supplied precious metals to the Swahili Coast, where traders shipped them to Arabia, India, and China. Alongside ivory and cattle, this wealth made the city one of the most powerful economic centres in Africa. So while medieval Europe was squabbling through feudalism, Zimbabwean kings were running a trade empire with walls taller than castles.

The Walls as an African Flex

The walls of Great Zimbabwe weren’t just about keeping people out. They were built to impress. No mortar, no cement, just pure engineering skill. Imagine rolling up as a merchant from the Indian Ocean coast, and suddenly, in the middle of the savannah, a massive stone city rises. Like the Walls of Benin, which once encircled an entire kingdom in West Africa, Great Zimbabwe’s walls were architecture as a power move. They screamed: “We run this region, and we want you to see it.” This was Africa’s medieval version of a flex, stone structures that doubled as political propaganda.

The Lie: “Africans Didn’t Build This”

Here’s where colonial arrogance kicks in. When Europeans stumbled upon Great Zimbabwe in the 19th century, they simply refused to believe Africans were capable of such sophistication. Their racist worldview demanded a different explanation. So they invented theories: Maybe it was built by the Phoenicians, or by the Arabs, or even linked to the Queen of Sheba. Anyone but Africans. In 1905, archaeologist Gertrude Caton-Thompson conducted detailed excavations and proved the site was built by local Shona people. But colonial governments either ignored or buried her findings because admitting African genius clashed with their narrative of “primitive natives.” For decades, schoolbooks and colonial propaganda whitewashed the truth. Great Zimbabwe became a prime example of how European powers tried to erase Africa’s history to justify conquest.

The Truth: Shona Brilliance

Modern archaeology leaves no doubt: Great Zimbabwe was built by the ancestors of the Shona people. The construction wasn’t random but highly symbolic. The walls weren’t simply for defence, they were social markers, separating the sacred from the secular, and the elite from the common. This wasn’t just architecture. It was statecraft in stone. A civilisation that valued symbolism, trade, spirituality, and aesthetics all in one.

Why Great Zimbabwe Matters

1. It Smashes Colonial Lies. Great Zimbabwe is proof that Africa had advanced cities, engineers, and

Empires, period!

2. It Rewrites History. Just like the Walls of Benin, these ruins expose the myth that Africans “lacked civilisation.”

3. It Shapes Identity. The modern nation of Zimbabwe is literally named after this site. The stone ruins appear on the national flag, daily proof of African greatness.

4. Its Global Heritage. Recognised by UNESCO in 1986, Great Zimbabwe isn’t just African history; it’s world history.

The Takeaway: Africa Builds, Africa Creates

Great Zimbabwe isn’t just another ruin; it’s a loud, stone-carved rejection of colonial erasure. It tells us that Africans were building massive stone cities while Europe was still doubting whether bathing was worth it. And it’s not alone. The Walls of Benin in West Africa and the Great Zimbabwe enclosures in Southern Africa are testaments to African engineering genius. They prove that monumental architecture is not just a European or Asian story, it’s an African one too. The stones still stand, whispering across centuries: “We built. We thrived. We ruled. And no lie can erase us.”