Great Zimbabwe builds its first stone walls

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On the granite plateau south of the Zambezi, a Shona polity controlling gold trade to the East African coast began raising massive drystone walls at what would be called Great Zimbabwe. The dhaka enclosures, built without mortar, would grow to hold perhaps eighteen thousand people. The precision of the stonework, with its signature chevron patterns and rounded towers, represents an architectural achievement unique in sub-Saharan African history.