ON the southern end of the Great Enclosure, is what may be the most mysterious stone structure at Great Zimbabwe-the Conical Tower.
This symmetrical structure is about 10 metres across at the base and tapers gradually to a flattened top higher than the outer wall.
It is solid, not hollow, so it was not a storage bin as some historians believe according to curators at the Great Zimbabwe monument.
There are no footholds or handholds on the sides for climbing, so it probably was not used as an astronomical observatory or as an observation or signal tower.
Some archeologists speculate that it was a symbolic grain bin or a symbol of the chief’s authority.
The Conical Tower is today used as a beacon of political power in Zimbabwe, it stands towering on the Zimbabwe National African Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) party cards and regalia as a logo.
A replica of the Conical Tower is also erected at the entrance to the Chimoio memorial shrine in Mozambique, where thousands of Zimbabweans lie in mass graves.
The towering imitation of the red brick conical tower symbolises the strength of how Munhumutapa ruled at Great Zimbabwe.
The different architectural styles evident in the walls of the Great Zimbabwe led archeologists to conclude that work on the wall proceeded gradually, perhaps over a period of 50 years.
For example, the blocks grow smaller and the rows more regular over the length of the wall.
In addition the walls grow increasingly refined farther away from the north entrance.
One of the most interesting features of the walls is a double chevron pattern of inclined blocks that adorn a 52 metre-length of the southern end of the wall.
The chevron pattern, similar to that on one of the soapstone bird columns, may have been the symbol of the chief.
From the northern entrance, an inner wall parallels the outer wall for about half its length.
Within the Great Enclosure, archeologists have found the remains of substantial huts that once nestled within the stone walled enclosures.
These huts housed Great Zimbabwe’s chiefs and their immediate families. Members of the Munhumutapa elite, dwelled in the mud and thatch huts that clustered within and around other stone walled enclosures close by in the valley. Because early colonial excavators dug over the interior of the Great Enclosure so carelessly, archeologists and historians could not know for certain what activities took place there.
However, modern curators speculate that the Great Enclosure was a busy place, for it was here that Munhumutapa conducted most of his business, administered justice, received tribute, and met with traders.
The Dare at Great Zimbabwe was large, which means Munhumutapa powerful politically.
No objects that are used in everyday life were found at this site.
The Hill Complex or the Acropolis was the palace of Munhumutapa.
It is the highest and most decorated structure and had spaces for religious ceremonies.
Munhumutapa was aloof and lived separately from the rest of the people.
Archeologists found objects like gold and bronze spearheads, which were all symbols of leadership, in the Hill Complex.
The soapstone birds were probably carved as a tribute to the ancestors of past kings.
The lower homesteads probably belonged to the wives of Munhumutapa.
The Shona king had a number of wives, who lived in one area of the settlement under the control of the first wife or vahosi.
It was her right and duty to keep the king’s possessions.
The biggest collection of valuable items was found in the lower homestead including Chinese dishes, Persian bowls, ivory and gold beads.
A number of Munhumutapa’s spears and axes were also found here, as well as monolith with a soapstone bird.
According to customs, the bird was a symbol of protection during the birth of royal children.
The remains at Great Zimbabwe suggest that it was a highly stratified society in which there were divisions between the royalty and commoners, although all had equal opportunities and food was plentiful.
The nobles lived in the terraces, the houses here were much larger than anywhere else, and were built with the best quality stonework.
It is also believed that the ordinary people, the commoners, lived in the hut mounds.
They lived in fairly close proximity to each other in small huts around the inside of the outer wall.
These huts have broken down and all that exists today are mounds.
Even at the height of Great Zimbabwe’s power, the population probably never numbered more than a few hundred people.
The local soils, never very fertile simply would not have supported the large numbers of people.
Most of the chief’s subjects probably lived in small hamlets scattered over the surrounding countryside.
Judging from the modern Shona custom, Great Zimbabwe attracted crowds for rainmaking, or mutoro ceremonies and other seasonal gatherings, but even then these crowds were relatively small.
Great Zimbabwe flourished until the early 1500s, when the site was abandoned.
A few Shona people lived at the site late into the 1500s, according to archeological evidence.
The inhabitants left because of a civil war that had broken out as some powerful and more influential generals close to Munhumutapa felt they could also expand the Shona Empire further inland into the south.
Although oral histories speak of a shortage of salt, a vital commodity for cattle herders, this theory has never been accepted by modern scholars.
Centuries of farming may have exhausted soils that were only moderately fertile. Other historians noted that no one is quite sure why this happened, but a possible explanation is that the resources of the area were exhausted as the population increased in size.
No one doubts that the Great Zimbabwe was built by (Africans) the Shona in particular; many intriguing mysteries still await future excavators.
While many questions about Great Zimbabwe remain, the most pressing problem at the site today is preservation.
Although much has been done over the years, many walls in the Hill Ruin and in the valley are collapsing under the weight of the rubble and densely packed ash from ancient heaths.
The Government’s long term plan is to produce computerised maps of the precise location of all unstable stone blocks as a first step for any future restoration work. But such ambitious schemes need financial resources.
For the moment archeologists must be content with monitoring the movement of blocks with data from old photographs and with fine wire mesh.
Officials from the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe at Great Zimbabwe have estimated the movement of some blocks to about 2,5 centimetres every year.
Great Zimbabwe was declared a World Heritage Site in 1986.
This means that it is now a protected area and the site may not be disturbed or damaged in any way.