Who Built Great Zimbabwe And Why? The Enduring Debate and Its Significance

 

The stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe, with their massive elliptical walls, conical towers, and sophisticated dry-stone masonry, have fascinated scholars, nationalists, and conspiracy theorists alike for more than a century. Constructed between the 11th and 15th centuries CE on the Zimbabwean plateau, the site stands as one of Africa’s most impressive pre-colonial monuments. Yet the question of its builders has long been entangled with politics, racism, and national identity. A vast literature — dozens of books, excavation reports, and scholarly articles — has attempted to settle the issue, from colonial pseudohistory to rigorous archaeological studies.Colonial and Fringe TheoriesIn the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many European observers refused to accept that indigenous Africans could have erected such a complex. This led to a series of exotic origin theories:

• Early writers speculated that the ruins were the work of ancient traders from the Middle East or India, perhaps linked to the biblical Queen of Sheba.
• Wilfrid Mallows, in his book The Mystery of the Great Zimbabwe: A New Solution (1985), proposed that the structures reflected foreign architectural influence far beyond local capabilities.
• Reginald Gayre advanced similar ideas in The Origin of the Zimbabwean Civilisation (1972), arguing for a “Caucasoid” or light-skinned elite class that supposedly directed construction.

Even earlier, the British archaeologist David Randall-MacIver, commissioned in 1905–1906, conducted excavations and concluded that the ruins were of medieval African (specifically Karanga) origin — a finding that challenged the dominant colonial narrative of the time.The Mainstream Archaeological ConsensusModern scholarship has overwhelmingly rejected these external-origin theories. The most authoritative works demonstrate that Great Zimbabwe was built by the ancestors of today’s Shona peoples, particularly Karanga groups, as part of a sophisticated indigenous state system.Key contributions include:

• Peter Garlake’s seminal Great Zimbabwe (1973)
• Innocent Pikirayi’s The Zimbabwe Culture: Origins and Decline of Southern Zambezian States (2001)
• D.N. Beach’s foundational The Shona and Zimbabwe 900–1850 (1980)
• Joost Fontein’s anthropological study The Silence of Great Zimbabwe: Contested Landscapes and the Power of Heritage (2006/2016)

These scholars, working across archaeology, history, and anthropology, have produced a rich body of evidence showing that the builders were local farming communities organised under powerful rulers who engaged in long-distance trade in gold and ivory.The Fringe ReturnsDespite the scholarly consensus, fringe theories persist. Authors such as Michael Tellinger have revived ancient-astronaut ideas, claiming the precision of the stonework suggests extraterrestrial assistance. Such claims merely update the old colonial denial of African capability for the modern age.Does It Matter Who Built It?In purely historical terms, the identity of the builders is now well-established. But the deeper question is whether the debate itself still matters. The colonial obsession with “who built it” was never innocent; it served to delegitimise African history and justify dispossession. Today, the real significance lies in recognising Great Zimbabwe as a powerful symbol of indigenous African ingenuity, political complexity, and spiritual vision.Why Zimbabwe Needs a National Heritage DayThis is precisely why Zimbabwe urgently needs an official Heritage Day, modelled on South Africa’s 24 September celebration. Let 5 September become that day.
Envision the scene: In Matabeleland, Ndebele communities gather to celebrate King Mzilikazi with traditional dances and praise poetry. At the same time, at Great Zimbabwe itself, Shona families from across the country converge. They arrive wearing robes adorned with their clan totems — Shava (eland), Mbizi (zebra), Hungwe (fish eagle) — while mbira players fill the ancient valley with resonant, spiritual melodies. Children learn oral histories, families share meals, and elders pass on the living memory of the Mutapa and Rozvi states. At the same time white Zimbabweans (former Rhodesians) can gather and commemorate their history or visit the graves of Cecil Rhodes and Alan Wilson and remember their ancestors. It would be a day of unity, pride, and reconnection.
Great Zimbabwe is not the only such site. Dozens of lesser-known “zimbabwes” dot the landscape — Khami, Nyanga, and others — each testifying to a widespread tradition of stone-building excellence. Yet Great Zimbabwe remains unique: it is the largest and most architecturally sophisticated pre-colonial stone structure south of the Sahara Desert.That is also why Masvingo (formerly Fort Victoria) should have been chosen as Zimbabwe’s capital. Lying in the shadow of these sacred ruins, it is the true spiritual heart of the nation.A Sobering Moral LessonThere is, however, a deeper and more uncomfortable lesson we must not ignore.Great Zimbabwe today stands as a majestic ruin — a silent reminder of a once-great civilisation that rose to remarkable heights and eventually collapsed. In our own time, modern Zimbabwe has itself become a land of ruins: broken roads, non-functional railways, frequent power cuts, dry water taps, and runaway inflation. The abandoned farms and decaying infrastructure of the Rhodesian era now join the older ruins as testaments to decline.The takeaway is clear: no civilisation is permanent. Greatness can be lost through complacency, laziness, poor leadership, and a failure to maintain what previous generations built.
Will our descendants one day walk through the ruins of what was once Rhodesia and ask the same question we once asked about Great Zimbabwe — “Who built this… and what went wrong?”
Naming our country after a ruined city may prove to be more than symbolic. It risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy if we fail to learn from history.
Let Heritage Day on 5 September not only celebrate our past achievements but also serve as a solemn warning: Build wisely, maintain diligently, and never take greatness for granted — or our civilisation too will one day be reduced to nothing but stones and questions.
What do you think — should 5 September be formally declared Zimbabwe’s Heritage Day? Have you visited Great Zimbabwe? Share your thoughts in the comments.
In my book Tovera the Great the first book in my Shona Chronicles series I use creative liberty and take a mythological at who built Great Zimbabwe. You can get it on Amazon. Link below.https://www.amazon.com/Tovera-Great-Shona-Chronicles-Anderson/dp/B0CRDXWQMV/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0