Great Enclosure

E202230

The Great Enclosure is the largest and most architecturally impressive stone structure at Great Zimbabwe, renowned for its massive dry-stone walls and enigmatic purpose.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Great Enclosure canonical 2
Great Enclosure wall 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf archaeological site feature ⓘ
architectural structure ⓘ
architecturalStyle Shona stone-building tradition ⓘ
associatedWith regional political power in medieval southern Africa ⓘ
trade wealth of Great Zimbabwe ⓘ
associatedWithCity Great Zimbabwe urban complex ⓘ
linked to: Great Zimbabwe
associatedWithCivilization Kingdom of Zimbabwe ⓘ
associatedWithEthnicGroup Shona people ⓘ
associatedWithMythOrInterpretation royal wives’ residence (hypothesis) ⓘ
builtBy Shona-speaking builders ⓘ
rulers of Great Zimbabwe ⓘ
conservationStatus preserved as part of Great Zimbabwe National Monument ⓘ
constructionMethod carefully fitted stone blocks without mortar ⓘ
constructionPeriod circa 14th–15th century CE (commonly cited) ⓘ
constructionTechnique dry-stone masonry ⓘ
country Zimbabwe ⓘ
culture Shona ⓘ
linked to: Shona people
hasArchaeologicalExcavations yes ⓘ
hasPart conical tower ⓘ
inner enclosure walls ⓘ
outer enclosure wall ⓘ
parallel passageways ⓘ
platforms and terraces ⓘ
hasUncertainFunction true ⓘ
heritageDesignation UNESCO World Heritage Site component ⓘ
heritageSiteOf Great Zimbabwe National Monument ⓘ
linked to: Great Zimbabwe
inscribedOnUNESCOWorldHeritageListAsPartOf Great Zimbabwe National Monument (1986) ⓘ
linked to: Great Zimbabwe
locatedIn Great Zimbabwe ⓘ
locatedInAdministrativeTerritory Masvingo Province ⓘ
locatedNear Masvingo ⓘ
locatedOnContinent Africa ⓘ
materialUsed stone ⓘ
notableFeature conical tower ⓘ
elliptical outer wall ⓘ
inner enclosures and passages ⓘ
massive dry-stone walls ⓘ
partOf Great Zimbabwe ⓘ
researchField African archaeology ⓘ
architectural history ⓘ
shape elliptical ⓘ
significance largest single ancient stone structure in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding Egypt and Nubia) ⓘ
most architecturally impressive structure at Great Zimbabwe ⓘ
touristAttraction major visitor focus at Great Zimbabwe ⓘ
use ceremonial purposes (hypothesized) ⓘ
elite residence (hypothesized) ⓘ
royal or ritual center (hypothesized) ⓘ
wallHeight up to about 9 meters ⓘ
wallThickness up to about 5 meters ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Great Zimbabwe → notableFeature → Great Enclosure ⓘ
Great Zimbabwe → hasStructure → Great Enclosure wall ⓘ
linked to: Great Enclosure
Hill Complex → overlooks → Great Enclosure ⓘ