Great Zimbabwe, located in the southeastern part of modern-day Zimbabwe, was the capital of an ancient empire that arose in southeastern Africa in around A.D. 1000. Little is known about this precolonial empire because its people did not leave a written history, but new archaeological excavations are shining a light on the enormous scale of the centuries-old civilization known for its intricate metalworking and ritual stone carvings.
"When I was growing up, I was surrounded by symbols of Great Zimbabwe," University of Oxford archaeologist Shadreck Chirikure, who is leading the new excavations at the site, said in the documentary. "It was only when I started studying archaeology at university that I started realizing that there was this very big debate around who built Great Zimbabwe."
Archaeologist Shadreck Chirikure excavates the hillside at Great Zimbabwe. (Image credit: Secrets of the Dead / PBS)But excavations are showing that Great Zimbabwe was a highly connected African kingdom that flourished from the 11th century until at least the 15th century, when the population may have gotten too large for the dry, over-farmed land to feed. Archaeologists have already discovered glass artifacts at Great Zimbabwe that came from Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East via boat.
Archaeologist Munyaradzi Manyanga walks toward the Great Zimbabwe National Monument. (Image credit: Secrets of the Dead / PBS)
"It's time we try to understand a bit more about trade and exchange," Chirikure said, "particularly by comparing the communities in places like Sri Lanka and southern Africa. Because it's the water that separated people, but it was also the water that connected people."
"We find it across the site of Great Zimbabwe," Chirikure said, but in small quantities. "This means the Chinese ceramics are a rarity. Perhaps they were used by the elites. They would have been quite a significant or highly valued exotic ware."
Great Zimbabwe is famous for its soapstone bird carvings. (Image credit: Jekesai Njikizana/Getty Images)RELATED STORIES
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"Soapstone birds are an important part of Great Zimbabwe," he said, "but no one really knows where they got their soapstone from."
"There are a number of soapstone outcrops around Great Zimbabwe," Chirikure said. Next time in the field, that's one of the things I want to do — just go out there and try and find the geological sources of that soapstone."
The PBS documentary "Secrets of the Dead: Africa's Golden City" premieres Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 10 p.m. U.S. Eastern time.
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