Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Shona stonemasons fitted granite blocks so precisely that walls still stand. The figure is taken from UNESCO World Heritage Centre, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a history fact?

Yes. It sits on the History shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Great Zimbabwe was built without mortar

Shona stonemasons fitted granite blocks so precisely that walls still stand Between roughly the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, the city of Great Zimbabwe served as the capital of a kingdom trading gold and ivory with the Swahili coast. Its Great Enclosure curves for about 250 metres, with walls nearly ten metres high built from shaped granite blocks laid dry. Colonial writers long denied local authorship; archaeology confirmed it decisively. It sits in Mondo's history collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

History trivia World Cultures trivia

More facts like this

Mansa Musa displayed immense wealth on his pilgrimage to MeccaThe ruler of Mali brought tons of gold across North Africa in 1324 The Nile River is widely recognised as the longest riverIt flows north for over six thousand six hundred kilometres through Africa The Sahara is the largest hot desert on EarthIt spans over nine million square kilometres across northern Africa The African bush elephant is the largest living land animalAdult males can reach weights of six tonnes and stand four metres tall The giraffe is the tallest living terrestrial animal on the planetExtensive leg and neck lengths allow adults to reach heights over five metres The kori bustard is the heaviest flying birdLarge males reach about 19 kilograms on the dry African savanna

Tags: zimbabwe, stonework, africa

Great Zimbabwe was built without mortar: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Shona stonemasons fitted granite blocks so precisely that walls still stand. The figure is taken from UNESCO World Heritage Centre, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a history fact?: Yes. It sits on the History shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.