ZIMBABWE, Om-NO/AAA ( Bantu, stone houses). The name of the very remarkable ruins in Southeastern Mashonaland, in latitude 20° DV a" S. and longitude 31 ° 10' 10" E., also called Great Zimbabwe, to distinguish them the numerous minor Zimbahwes scattered through the (sundry. The ruins, which cover a large area, are situated upon a high plateau, 3300 fist above sea-h-vel, and consist of a circu lar structure plaeed upon a moderate eminence, and a strongly fortified :tempting on the top of a neighboring kopje, with a considerable mass of rid IIM in the valley between. The circular struc ture, SVPIIIS to have combined the funethms of a temple and a fort, is 280 feet in diameter and is surronrided by a stone wall built of small granite blocks laid, as in all buildings of this type, without. mortar. Tice height of the wall varies from 35 to 15 feet, and its thickness from 16 to 5 feet. It is pierced by three entranees and the interior is divided into compartments by a complicated system of inner walls. In an in closure at the southeastern end stand two solid conical towers, one of which is 32 feet high, while its fellow is much smaller. These towers ap pear to resemble the great phallic towers de scribed by ancient writers as standing in the sacred inclosures of Phoenician temples. To the north of the circular structure the ground slopes down into a small valley filled with a great mass of ruins and debris, probably the remains of a city. On the opposite side of the valley is a precipitous hill or kopje crowned with the ruins of an ancient citadel or acropolis. which is ap proached by a narrow way strongly fortified at every step. The hill is of great natural strength, being protected on one side by gigantic boulders, and on the south by a precipice from 70 to 90 feet high; the only accessible side is protected by a massive wall, 13 feet thick at the top and 30 feet high in places. Like that of the circular structure below, the interior of the acropolis is divided by walls into a labyrinthine maze of compartments. From one of these compartments
a stairway leads down to a series of caves in which were found a furnace for smelting gold, a number of small crucibles with particles of gold still adhering to them, and a soapstone ingot mold. The ruins of Great Zimbabwe are the most important of a long series of similar ruins extending along the whole length of the west side of the Sabi River. The region in which they oc cur is rich in gold, and numerous ancient work ings attest the fact that the metal was exten sively mined here at a very early period. Indeed, it can hardly be doubted, in the light of recent discoveries, that in this auriferous district was the biblical Ophir whence king Solomon is said to have derived large quantities of the precious metal. The Zimbabwe and other similar ruins were undoubtedly the work of the ancient people who operated the gold mines in this district and established colonies for the carrying on of the industry. The strong fortifications of their ruined cities indicate that these colonies were surrounded by a hostile population. The arele °logical evidence tends to show that the ancient builders and miners were Semites, and probably South Arabians, though the country and its valu able products seem to have been known to the and Egyptians as well. Sledimeval Arabic writers frequently mention the gold ob tained from this region, and a certain mm mount is reported to have been mined there at the time of the Portuguese settlement in Die sixteenth century. At the present day mining operations are extensively carried on in the district, and a large amount of gold is produced. The ruins of Great Zimbabwe were discovered by Karl Maud] in 1871; they were earefolly explored by Theo dore Bent in 1St)]. and have sinee been visited by several explorers. Consult: Bent, The Ruined Vibes of Hashonaland (London, 1892) ; and Peters, Inn Goldland des .111ertunms (Munich, 1902).