00:00 The ruins of Great Zimbabwe, located in central Zimbabwe, were initially believed to have been built by non-African people, but subsequent archaeological investigations showed that it was actually built by a civilization that had contact with other parts of the world.

01:49 The city of Great Zimbabwe had a population of up to 20,000 people at its peak and the first Europeans to discover it in the 16th century believed it was the work of the devil.

03:16 European explorers in the 19th century associated Great Zimbabwe with the biblical Queen of Sheba, while others suggested it was either an Egyptian outpost or built by Arabs or Phoenicians.

04:40 Professional archaeologists have concluded that Great Zimbabwe was built by the people who lived there, specifically the Bantu people, and that it is of medieval origin.

06:06 Great Zimbabwe was inhabited in waves over the centuries, with five distinct periods of settlement identified, including a major building boom and evidence of sophisticated metalworking during the peak period from 1200 to 1500, and the discovery of artifacts from Persia, China, and the eastern coast of Africa.

07:32 Great Zimbabwe was a major trading hub in southern Africa, contributing gold and ivory to the trade network, but by around 1450 it had been mostly abandoned for reasons including drought, famine, political instability, and the exhaustion of gold mines, with the Kingdom of Mutapa taking over as the dominant power in the region.

08:57 Great Zimbabwe, despite its historical significance as a major trading hub and important city in Southern Africa, remains largely unknown and mysterious due to the lack of written records and the various political interpretations of its purpose and origins.