1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: I am Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. We 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: touched really, really, really briefly on today's topic way back 5 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,759 Speaker 1: when we did our condensed history of Rhodesia. It is 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: Great Zimbabwe, which is a huge stone city and what's 7 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: now southeastern Zimbabwe, and it's been on hind to do 8 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: list for that entire time. We also recently, I'm not 9 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: quite sure if the letters were from the same person 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: or if people were just copying and pasting the same text, 11 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: but we got multiple identical requests for it. There you 12 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: go from different email addresses, so uh, and moved up 13 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: the list after that. In a way, Great Zimbabwe has 14 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: multiple histories. Obviously, there is the history of its founding 15 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: and its construction and the people who originally lived there. 16 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: But then there's also this completely separate and one incorrect 17 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:14,319 Speaker 1: history that European explorers and colonists sort of bestowed upon it. 18 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: And this was a history that insisted that Great Zimbabwe 19 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: in Southeastern Africa had not been built by Africans. So 20 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 1: today we're going to talk about the site itself and 21 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: how uh what we know about its construction and who 22 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: lived there, And then we're also going to talk about 23 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: these first colonial histories that were written about it and 24 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: how they were so colossally wrong and the damage that 25 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: came from that. Great Zimbabwe, which is a UNESCO World 26 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,720 Speaker 1: Heritage Site, was most likely inhabited all the way back 27 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: to the year one hundred, but from the eleventh to 28 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: the fifteen centuries it was a large, thriving city. And 29 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: the word Zimbabwe means the house in stone, though it's 30 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: also sometimes translated as sacred house or royal house. The 31 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: descriptor of great distinguishes Great Zimbabwe from smaller stone cities 32 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: in the area. It's one of about a hundred and 33 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: fifty major stone ruined sites in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. There 34 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: is some debate about exactly which sub Saharan African people 35 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: built Great Zimbabwe. The most commonly sited are the Shona, 36 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: who are a Bantu speaking people who migrated into the 37 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: area from the Sahara Desert sometime around the ninth century. 38 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: The Shona people still exist today, with a population of 39 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: between ten and thirty million living primarily in Zimbabwe. Mozambique, 40 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: but Tswana, Zambia, and the northern parts of South Africa. 41 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 1: There are multual, multiple cultural groups and dialects of the 42 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:46,079 Speaker 1: Shona language within this population. Although Great Zimbabwe itself is 43 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 1: a ruin now, Shona people still living in the area 44 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: do view it as a sacred site and use it 45 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: for spiritual purposes. But there are other Bantu speaking people 46 00:02:56,600 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: suggested as Great Zimbabwe's builders as well, include the Venda 47 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: and the Lemba. Lemba burial traditions are similar to those 48 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: practiced at Great Zimbabwe, and they were also known for 49 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: being traders, and Great Zimbabwe was an active trading hub. 50 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: Even so, the Shonna are the most commonly sighted, and 51 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: in many discussions of Great Zimbabwe they're actually the only 52 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: people that get mentioned. The Great Zimbabwe Ruins as they 53 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: exist today, are roughly described in three areas. There are 54 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:29,919 Speaker 1: the Hill Ruins or the Hill Complex, the Great Enclosure, 55 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: and the Valley Ruins or Valley Complex. The Hill Ruins 56 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: are along a very steep hill that rises two hundred 57 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: and sixty two feet, which is about eighty meters above 58 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: the surrounding landscape. The Hill Ruins were home to Great 59 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: Zimbabwe's ruling class, and through archaeological evidence we know that 60 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: the Hill Ruins were occupied pretty much continually from the 61 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: eleventh to the fifteen centuries. The Hill Ruins were basically 62 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,040 Speaker 1: a royal city built from both shaped granite blocks of 63 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: natural boulders, regardless of which was used. They were built 64 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: without mortar and very narrow, sometimes covered passageways connected the 65 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: different structures. Two walled enclosures, which are both pretty large, 66 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: are part of the Hill Ruins. The west enclosure was 67 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: most likely where the chiefs lived. The East enclosures purpose 68 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: is a little bit less clear, although excavations revealed that 69 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,359 Speaker 1: it contained a collection of soap stone posts about a 70 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: meter tall, all carved with are all topped with carvings 71 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: of birds, so it clearly had some kind of specific purpose. 72 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: It might have been religious or ceremonial, and these soap 73 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: stone birds are now known as Zimbabwe birds and they're 74 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: represented on Zimbabwe's flag and also many smaller versions of 75 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: these birds have been found on the site as well. 76 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: Also part of the Hill Ruins is a shallow cave 77 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,840 Speaker 1: that was probably reserved for the use of the king. 78 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 1: In addition to providing shelter and a view of the 79 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: surrounding countryside. The shape of the cave and the surrounding 80 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: hills basically creates a natural p a system, so a 81 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: shout from the cave would echo from the hills and 82 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: be audible by anyone in Great Zimbabwe. The Great Enclosure, 83 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,159 Speaker 1: which lies to the south of the Hill Ruins, is 84 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: the largest ancient structure in Sub Saharan Africa. It probably 85 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: served one of two purposes. It was either the royal 86 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: residence or a temple. So if the Great Enclosure was 87 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 1: the royal residence, then the Hill Ruins were sort of 88 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: the greater royal city where other uh people in the 89 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: ruling class lived, but not necessarily the king and his 90 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: immediate family. The Great Enclosure itself is encircled by a 91 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: huge elliptical wall that runs for eight hundred and twenty 92 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,160 Speaker 1: feet that's about two fifty meters in places, flanked by 93 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,159 Speaker 1: an inner parallel wall, and the walls are made of 94 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: granite blocks, and they're quite tall. Uh. The great wall 95 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: is thirty six ft, which is eleven meters ish at 96 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: the tallest. And these walls aren't wear it off or 97 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: rectangular at all. There actually a series of curves. The 98 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: builders of Great Zimbabwe built these curving walls out of 99 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: square and rectangular granite blocks. The granite slabs that are 100 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: part of the area's natural landscape split along straight lines 101 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 1: when you break them, which made it possible to shape 102 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: them into these regularly shaped square or rectangular forms. These 103 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 1: walls were built in curves by placing the blocks one 104 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: on top of the other and position so that the 105 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,479 Speaker 1: wall itself would have a slight inward slope that would 106 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: help keep it stable. Even though these walls look quite imposing, 107 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: it's likely that they were built as a show of strength, 108 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: not as an active defense. Regardless of their purpose, though 109 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: they're a true feat of craftsmanship and engineering. Within the 110 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: Great Enclosure are smaller walls separating the living areas for 111 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: different families, and most of these areas include two living huts, 112 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: a kitchen, and a common area. One of the most 113 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: distinctive features of the Great Enclosure, besides that enormous and 114 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: impressive encircling wall, is a large conical tower, and its 115 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: purpose is unknown, but it resembles a grain bin. It's 116 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: thought to have had a religious or possibly symbolic purpose. 117 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: At both the Hill Ruins and the Grade Enclosure, there 118 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: are smaller structures like living quarters that were made from daga. 119 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: Daga is a type of earthen brick made from granite, 120 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: sand and clay. Originally, the data structures might have been 121 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: almost imposing as the stone walls are, but because they 122 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: were made of clay instead of stone, they've been subject 123 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: to a lot more weathering and decay over the centuries 124 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 1: that have passed that they were built. Today, most of 125 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: the Data structures have been reduced down to mounds rather 126 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: than being recognizable is what they were originally originally built 127 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: to be. The Valley Ruins, as their name suggests, stretch 128 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: out through the valley. They're newer than the rest of 129 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: Great Zimbabwe, with some of the structures dating as recently 130 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 1: as the nineteenth century, and these new structures are rick 131 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: rather than stone blocks. The Valley Ruins would have been 132 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: home to Great Zimbabwe's citizens, with the Great Enclosure and 133 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: the Hill Complex reserved for the royalty and upper social class. 134 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: From the eleventh to the fifteenth century, Great Zimbabwe was 135 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: an active, thriving, functioning city with a population of up 136 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: to eighteen thousand people, making it the largest city in 137 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: Southern Africa at the time. It's artisans and craftspeople were 138 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: particularly skilled at both stonework and making pottery. Many of 139 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: the artifacts at the site were carved soap stone, like 140 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: small statues, figures, decorated bowls, things like that. It was 141 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: also an agricultural society, cultivating crops and raising cattle, both 142 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: for food and as a symbol of the ruling classes wealth. 143 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: In addition, Great Zimbabwe, as we mentioned before, was a 144 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: huge trading hub, in part because it was positioned between 145 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: gold mines and the coast. Archaeologists have found beads, porcelain, glassware, 146 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,720 Speaker 1: and other materials that came from China, Persia, and India. 147 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: There there are also coins from the Arab world. So 148 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: the trading network moving through Great Zimbabwe was enormous and 149 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: it extended far beyond Southern Africa. Eventually, Great Zimbabwe's residents moved, 150 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: and we will talk about when and why that happened 151 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: and what happened afterward. After a quick sponsor break, so 152 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,199 Speaker 1: in the late fifteenth century, Great Zimbabwe was abandoned, at 153 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: least in terms of a society of people continually living there. 154 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,440 Speaker 1: Over the course of the city's history, the area around 155 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,840 Speaker 1: it had been deforested, and eventually there wasn't enough food 156 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: available to continue to continue to support its population. The 157 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: direction of trade had also shifted a little to the north, 158 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: which left Great Zimbabwe out of a lot of the 159 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: most commonly used trading routes. A series of civil wars 160 00:09:56,679 --> 00:09:59,239 Speaker 1: in the area may also have prompted people to relocate 161 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: as well. So while most or all of Great Zimbabwe's 162 00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 1: population did relocate, it did continue also to be an 163 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: important site culturally from a spiritual and a cultural perspective. 164 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: Many of Great Zimbabwe's population relocated to the city of Kami, 165 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,679 Speaker 1: and the Kami Ruins also still exist in Zimbabwe. Like 166 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: Great Zimbabwe, they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site because 167 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 1: so many of Great Zimbabwe's residents moved to Kami, Kami's 168 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: construction and layout have some similarities to Great Zimbabwe's. The 169 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: same is true for pottery that was made at Kami 170 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: follows a lot of the same techniques as earlier work 171 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: at Great Zimbabwe, and Kami is basically a later creation 172 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:45,160 Speaker 1: of the same culture that built Great Zimbabwe, and it's 173 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: the second largest stone monument in Zimbabwe after Great Zimbabwe. 174 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: Europeans started hearing about Great Zimbabwe in the sixteenth century. 175 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: One of those first sources was Huo to Barrow, who 176 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: was a poor part of US historian who chronicled Portugal's 177 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: history in Southeast Africa and parts of Asia. He wrote 178 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 1: of quote a square fortress masonry within and without, built 179 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: of stones of marvelous size, and there appears to be 180 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,199 Speaker 1: no mortar joining them. And even though he says the 181 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: word square, which Great Zimbabwe is definitely not square. This 182 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:25,320 Speaker 1: is usually interpreted as being about Great Zimbabwe, probably based 183 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: on a description that someone gave to him, not something 184 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 1: he had visited himself. Word of this wonder started to spread, 185 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: mostly through trading ports in Mozambique. D Borrow and others 186 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: who heard about Great Zimbabwe suspected that it was an 187 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: important historical site, but they thought it was probably over 188 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:50,319 Speaker 1: the site of King Solomon's minds. Soon, among European people 189 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: who were interested in such things, that became basically common 190 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:58,240 Speaker 1: knowledge that somewhere in southeastern Africa were biblical ruins. So, 191 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy one German car All Mauch set out 192 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:03,839 Speaker 1: on an expedition that he hoped would reveal the site 193 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 1: of oper In August of that year, he made up 194 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: with a German trader who described quote quite large ruins 195 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: which could never have been built by blacks. Mak hired 196 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: a local guide and then reached Zimbabwe on September five 197 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 1: of that year, becoming at that point the first European 198 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 1: known to have actually visited the site. While exploring the ruins, 199 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,440 Speaker 1: he found some reddish, fragrant wood that resembled the wood 200 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 1: of his pencil, and he concluded that it was cedar 201 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: imported from Lebanon, and that it was an import brought 202 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:38,839 Speaker 1: to the area by the Phoenicians, who he thought must 203 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:42,959 Speaker 1: have built the site for the Queen of Sheba. Uh, 204 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: it was really sandal wood. It's not what he thought. 205 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: It was, just just one poorly identified piece of wood. 206 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:58,240 Speaker 1: Really steered things completely off course. Yeah. His his theories 207 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: that great Zimbabwe is built by the Phoenicians and had 208 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 1: been home to the Queen of Sheba captured the attention 209 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:06,920 Speaker 1: of Cecil Rhodes, who we talked about a lot in 210 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: our past podcast on Rhodesia. Rhodeses views were unquestionably steeped 211 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: in white supremacy, so when he went to visit the 212 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: ruins himself in the late nineteenth century, was described as 213 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: quote the ancient temple which once upon a time belonged 214 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: to white men. Rhodes in the British South Africa Company 215 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: then enlisted J. Theodore Bent to investigate. Bent had an 216 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: interest in the subject but no formal training, and, like 217 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,439 Speaker 1: Rhodes and Mauch, approached the task from the point of 218 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: view that this city had to have been built by 219 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,839 Speaker 1: white men. He visited Great Zimbabwe with his wife and 220 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 1: a man named Robert Swan who acted as a cartographer. 221 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: Before even getting to Great Zimbabwe, Bent and his party 222 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,319 Speaker 1: passed through many of the other stone ruins in the area. 223 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: Bent even wrote that he added the word great to 224 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: the name Zimbabwe to distinguish it from all the other 225 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:04,839 Speaker 1: smaller Zimbabwe's, but the presence of other similar ruins all 226 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 1: around Southeastern Africa didn't signal to him that Great Zimbabwe 227 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: was part of a building tradition of the people still 228 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 1: living in the area spanning over centuries. He continued to 229 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,240 Speaker 1: approach Great Zimbabwe specifically as the work of outsiders, drawing 230 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: comparisons to ancient cities in Malta, Sardinia, and elsewhere in 231 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: the Mediterranean. Bent began an excavation that unearthed artifacts that 232 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:31,680 Speaker 1: fit right into the context of African archaeology. Weapon points, 233 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 1: tools and pottery were all totally consistent with what should 234 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: have been expected of a Southeast African civilization. Bent thought 235 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: the Zimbabwe birds were meant to represent quote the Assyrian 236 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: astarte or venus, namely the female element in creation, and 237 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: he found it quote obvious that quote the ruins and 238 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: the things in them are not in any way connected 239 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:58,200 Speaker 1: with any known African race. The objects of art and 240 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: special cult are foreign all to together to the country. 241 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: He concluded that the ruins and the furnaces that were there, 242 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: and the walls were all dedicated to the production and 243 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: the protection of gold. Bent's conclusion, quote a prehistoric race 244 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: built the ruins, a northern race coming from Arabia, closely 245 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 1: akin to the Phoenician and Egyptian, and eventually developing into 246 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:27,040 Speaker 1: the more civilized races of the ancient world. The next 247 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: effort to study the site was downright damaging from a 248 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: physical perspective, not just a historical one. Richard Nicolin Hall, 249 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: a journalist, was appointed as the curator of Great Zimbabwe, 250 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: and what he was supposed to do was just preserve 251 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: the structures, not to do further study. Instead, he decided 252 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,600 Speaker 1: to remove the quote filth and decadence of the site's 253 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,200 Speaker 1: occupation by the local black population, and he removed and 254 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: discarded stratified archaeological deposits to a depth that ranged from 255 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: three to twelve feet. He was fired for this, but 256 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: unfortunately the damage of his efforts was done at that point. 257 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 1: You can't unring that bell. And he didn't even seem 258 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:14,480 Speaker 1: to comprehend that anything that he had done was wrong 259 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: or damaging. He wrote or co wrote the books The 260 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: Ancient Ruins of Rhodesia and Great Zimbabwe, and he delivered 261 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 1: a lecture at the African Society on October twelfth, nineteen 262 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: o four, in which he described what he had done 263 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 1: as quote. Large areas of the ancient temples were cleared 264 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: of debris to a considerable depth, and the original floors 265 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: as well as ancient walls and other structures were disclosed, 266 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 1: while prehistoric relics were unearthed, which overwhelmingly proved the extensive 267 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 1: practice of nature worship of an exceedingly old cult. He 268 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: went on to express some chagrin that J. Theodore Bent 269 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: had only seen the ruins in their quote buried condition. 270 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: He really seems to have genuine genuinely thought that he 271 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 1: did the right thing. It was not the right thing 272 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:04,359 Speaker 1: that that's how you do archaeology. You go in with 273 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,800 Speaker 1: a vacuum, a mop and you take everything away. This 274 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,160 Speaker 1: is one of the reasons we didn't have as much 275 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 1: to share about what life was like in Great Zimbabwe 276 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,359 Speaker 1: in the first act of the show today. So many 277 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: of the archaeological findings that could have told us this 278 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: were destroyed by a man thinking that he was removing 279 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,360 Speaker 1: quote the filth and decadence of the people who had 280 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: actually built the place and lived there, thinking it hid 281 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 1: instead been built by white people, then that the actual 282 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:37,360 Speaker 1: artifacts were instead a contaminant. Most of the analysis made 283 00:17:37,359 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 1: of the site before the destruction actually happened were also 284 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,679 Speaker 1: made by people working off of the assumption that what 285 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,360 Speaker 1: they were looking at was relics from a Phoenician, Egyptian 286 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: or Greek civilization that had moved into Sub Saharan Africa, 287 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: not a sub Saharan African one. So while they were 288 00:17:56,080 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: people who did study of the site before this destruction happened, 289 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:04,640 Speaker 1: that study was not archaeologically sound. Yeah, it was all 290 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,639 Speaker 1: based on a completely incorrect presumption. But the record was 291 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,880 Speaker 1: finally set mostly straight, and we're going to talk about 292 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,160 Speaker 1: that after we first paused for a little sponsor break. 293 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:24,400 Speaker 1: So although Richard nicklen Hall never seemed to grasp what 294 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: he had done, uh, the fact that he had done 295 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:32,479 Speaker 1: real harm was completely understood by the British South Africa 296 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:36,399 Speaker 1: Company and they then hired David Randall mc iver to investigate. 297 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: He he was an actual archaeologist, and his verdict was 298 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: that the ruins at Great Zimbabwe quote are unquestionably African 299 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: in every detail and belonging to a period which is 300 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: fixed by foreign imports, as in general medieval. So this 301 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: was in five. It was after Europeans had thought that 302 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: Great Zimbabwe was a biblical city built by someone not 303 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: from Sub Saharan Africa for hundreds of years, and that 304 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,199 Speaker 1: it was a Phoenician city built for the Queen of 305 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:14,360 Speaker 1: Sheba for decades. Another English archaeologists, Gertrude Cayton Thompson, confirmed 306 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: Randall mc iver's findings in and she wrote, quote examination 307 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: of all the existing evidence gathered from every quarter still 308 00:19:23,359 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 1: can produce not one single item that is not in 309 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: accordance with the claim of Bantu origin and medieval date. 310 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 1: The interest in Zimbabwe and the Allied Ruins should, on 311 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: this account to all educated people be enhanced a hundredfold. 312 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:42,919 Speaker 1: It enriches, not impoverishes, our wonderment at their remarkable achievement. 313 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 1: For the mystery of Zimbabwe is the mystery which lies 314 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: in the still pulsating heart of Native Africa. The idea 315 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 1: that Great Zimbabwe was the work of white people rather 316 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: than Africans persevered, though white colonial governments in the region 317 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:02,360 Speaker 1: were explicitly racist and they viewed the black population as 318 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: inferior and frankly incapable of building something like Great Zimbabwe, 319 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,800 Speaker 1: talking about its real origins became at best a touchy subject. 320 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: During the period in which the nation was known as 321 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: Rhodesia and was governed specifically as a white supremacist state, 322 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: the government actively tried to suppress discussion of Great Zimbabwe 323 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:26,160 Speaker 1: as an African archaeological and historical site built by africans 324 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 1: Ian smith. Rhodesia's Prime minister even commissioned a false history 325 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 1: to that end. Eventually, Zimbabwe became an independent nation with 326 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,639 Speaker 1: the government that's more representative of its racial demographics, and 327 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 1: even so, Great Zimbabwe has continued to face obstacles as 328 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 1: a historical site at various points. People managing the site 329 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 1: have undertaken well meaning but poorly documented attempts to rebuild 330 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 1: fallen walls and you know other things that naturally happened 331 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,920 Speaker 1: to hundreds of year old historical sites. After Zimbabwe became 332 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which happened in nine, the 333 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 1: process of conservation and restoration moved to be much more 334 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 1: in line with modern standards, but even so it's far 335 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: from a perfect process. The spiritual and cultural significance of 336 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: the site to the Shona and other Bantu speaking people's 337 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: is sometimes at odds with its status as a historical site. 338 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: For example, that site is now overseen by the National 339 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:30,560 Speaker 1: Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, which charges admission, which some 340 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: view as a desecration or a closing off of a 341 00:21:33,359 --> 00:21:36,159 Speaker 1: site that used to be open and alive. And the 342 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: nation of Zimbabwe has had ongoing issues with corruption and 343 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 1: hyper inflation. So even though it is a protected site, 344 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,919 Speaker 1: there is still controversy that sort of broils around it. Yeah, 345 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: this is when I started working on this. I knew 346 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: because we mentioned it in our episode about Rhodesia that 347 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 1: it was so impressive that uh, like the white colonial 348 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 1: governments that arrived in the air area just assumed that 349 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: it could not have been built by people actually living 350 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: there um and instead cited things like Phoenicians or Egyptians, 351 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: which just to remind everyone, Egypt is also in Africa, 352 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,639 Speaker 1: So like, like, I already knew that piece of it, 353 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:20,160 Speaker 1: but I did not realize until I actually got into 354 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: researching what had happened that it wasn't so much just 355 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 1: just people got there and we're like, oh, that probably, 356 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 1: like at Phoenicians built that, But it was much a 357 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:36,199 Speaker 1: much bigger effort to classify the site as something that 358 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:39,639 Speaker 1: was both not built by Sub Saharan Africans and was 359 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:44,320 Speaker 1: related to the Bible. That part was news to me 360 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: when I got into the episode. Do you also have 361 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,120 Speaker 1: some listener mail for us? This is an email from 362 00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:56,800 Speaker 1: Mike because about the Winchester Mystery House after that part 363 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: of our Unearthed in episode where we ticked three some 364 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,919 Speaker 1: things that we said, uh, we're really big names but 365 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:10,040 Speaker 1: maybe not totally verifiable, and we talked about a news 366 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: article that had come out that we saw in several places, 367 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 1: but it all seemed to be referencing the same source 368 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 1: that a new room had been found in the Winchester 369 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,679 Speaker 1: Mystery House and so my rights. I've been listening to 370 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: the podcast for about two years now and I love it. 371 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: I apologize in advanced for such a long email generated 372 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: by such a short mention on the podcast, but this 373 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:32,399 Speaker 1: is something I'm very passionate about. Please feel free to 374 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 1: edit as needed if you read it on the air 375 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: and one of the recent Unearthed episodes, you quickly mentioned 376 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:39,920 Speaker 1: that a new room had been found at the Winchester 377 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 1: Mystery House, but admitted that it appeared all the reporting 378 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 1: had come from the same initial writing. That's because the 379 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 1: initial writing was a press release from the company that 380 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,399 Speaker 1: owns and runs the tourist attraction, and unfortunately, although it 381 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: was intended to be tongue in cheek, this release was 382 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 1: taken quite literally by most news outlets. What the release 383 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,280 Speaker 1: was actually talking about was a new arcade shooting gallery. 384 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,840 Speaker 1: They built one of those silly things where you use 385 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,679 Speaker 1: a light gun, in this case modeled after a Winchester rifle, 386 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: and when you hit something, the item shakes, or a 387 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:14,119 Speaker 1: song plays on the piano, or a light goes out, etcetera. Uh, 388 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,440 Speaker 1: and then Mike goes into some personal detail about how 389 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: he knows this information, which I'm gonna skip. We will 390 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: leave to say he is a credible source, but in 391 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 1: the interest of his pipe privacy, I'm not going to 392 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 1: go into all that detail. And he says that there 393 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:33,639 Speaker 1: is a possibility that there could be at some point 394 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:37,680 Speaker 1: underneath the mansion, uh, something that had later been filled 395 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,639 Speaker 1: in and excavated, but that otherwise all of the space 396 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: within the house itself is accounted for. They're not gonna 397 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,400 Speaker 1: find a mysterious extra room because they know where all 398 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: of the things are. Um and then comes on with 399 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 1: some other interesting uh facts which he says, I also 400 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,200 Speaker 1: have to tell you that the Missing History episode about 401 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 1: the Winchester House from several years ago fell victim to 402 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: the fact that of the information out there on the 403 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: subject is based on gossip and hearsay, even reports that 404 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:12,159 Speaker 1: were contemporary to Mrs Winchester. Mrs Winchester was not a 405 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: devoted spiritualist. She may have practiced casually, did not fear 406 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 1: that the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles were 407 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: after her. She did not build the mansion to appease 408 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 1: said spirits. Instead, she was an architectural hobbyist with no 409 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:29,119 Speaker 1: training who liked to experiment and someone who enjoyed employing 410 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: local people as a form of philanthropy. If you ever 411 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: wish to revisit the Winchester Mystery House, or if listeners 412 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:38,160 Speaker 1: want to look into it, a great resource is Mary 413 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: Joe Ignafo's book Captive of the Labyrinth. Mrs Igna Ignafo 414 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: did extensive research and got all of the raw facts correct, 415 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,359 Speaker 1: although she occasionally falters when forced to extrapolate in the 416 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: absence of documentation. For the hardcore local resources history, San 417 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,000 Speaker 1: Jose is in in possession of two collections of photos 418 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 1: and documents, one for Mrs Winchester ranch foreman and went 419 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 1: from her lawyer. These papers reveal Mrs Winchester stud be 420 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:08,639 Speaker 1: someone concerned with business and real estate affairs, family and philanthropy, 421 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:13,880 Speaker 1: particularly her interest in keeping her uh generous giving anonymous, 422 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,160 Speaker 1: not so much with sciences and spirits in the number 423 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: of thirteam. I'm not terribly bothered about the false information 424 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:23,400 Speaker 1: always given about Sarah Winchester, because without the quirky stories, 425 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: the mansion probably wouldn't have been saved for posterity. But 426 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:28,920 Speaker 1: I also want the truth to get out there. Thanks 427 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 1: for providing interesting topics for us with each new podcast, 428 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 1: I always look forward to the next one. Sincerely, Mike, 429 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:39,360 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Mike. That is delightful to learn. Yeah, 430 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:43,400 Speaker 1: and and I similarly, Uh, I mean, I've never been 431 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,560 Speaker 1: to the Winchester Mystery House, but I know it is 432 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 1: a very popular attraction, and so I can I can 433 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 1: sympathize with the idea that, um that the stories around it, 434 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:01,119 Speaker 1: we're very attractive in having it preserves Yeah, for sure, 435 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,520 Speaker 1: even though they there is some embellishment going on, That's 436 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:08,399 Speaker 1: not uncommon for historical places. I mean, when we've talked 437 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: about allegedly haunted places before, you find out often that 438 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: the actual story is a little more mundane than what 439 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:19,480 Speaker 1: usually you know, draws people's attention well, and it reminds 440 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: me a bit of you. And I went to Salem, Massachusetts. 441 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 1: Uh it was last year at this point, uh, and 442 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: we filmed some video at the House of Seven Gables, 443 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,520 Speaker 1: which you can find on our website. But one of 444 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: the things that we talked about in that video is 445 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,440 Speaker 1: how the uh, the book The House of Seven Gables. 446 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,200 Speaker 1: Seven Gables was based on the house, but the house 447 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:43,040 Speaker 1: didn't actually match up what was in the book. So 448 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 1: when the house became a tourist attraction, uh to support 449 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:49,439 Speaker 1: the work of a settlement house in the area, So 450 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 1: it was a charitable effort. Um. It's some of the 451 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 1: work that was done on it, uh brought it more 452 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,240 Speaker 1: into line with the fictitious representation of it. So it 453 00:28:00,359 --> 00:28:02,880 Speaker 1: was like a house and then a fiction and then 454 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: a slightly renovated house, a slightly renovated house that still 455 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:10,639 Speaker 1: has like a lot of very true and accurate history 456 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 1: to talk about, but also has some things that have 457 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: been added on for the sake of having it be 458 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,480 Speaker 1: a place that people who are interested in that book, 459 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 1: uh would want to come see. Yeah. Uh, those are 460 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:25,879 Speaker 1: both things that led to preserving a site, not to 461 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 1: destroying it asked with Great Zimbabwe. So if you would 462 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 1: like to write to us about this or any other podcast, 463 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: we're at history podcast that how Stuff Works dot com. 464 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 1: We're also on Facebook at Facebook dot com, slash miss 465 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 1: in History and on Twitter at miss in History. Are 466 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,360 Speaker 1: tumbler as miss in history dot tumble dot com. We're 467 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 1: on Pinterest and Instagram at miss in History. You can 468 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: come to our parent company's website, which is how stuff 469 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 1: Works dot com, where I think there's a whole thing 470 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:56,000 Speaker 1: there about the Winchester Mystery House. Uh. And you can 471 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,360 Speaker 1: come to our website which was missed in history dot com. 472 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:00,960 Speaker 1: Do you find an archive of pret episode we've ever 473 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 1: done and show notes for the episodes Holly and I 474 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:07,880 Speaker 1: have done. Uh. That video that we just mentioned, um 475 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,200 Speaker 1: from the House of Seven seven Gables is there, as 476 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,760 Speaker 1: well as three other videos that Holly and I made 477 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,520 Speaker 1: after our trip in October. So you can do all 478 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 1: of that in a whole lot more at how stuff 479 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 1: works dot com or ms in history dot com for 480 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: more on this and thousands of other topics. Is it 481 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:42,160 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com.