• Spiritual Building at the “House of Stone”
    The Watchtower—2007 | February 15

    • WHY the name House of Stone? In 1867 hunter and explorer Adam Renders came across large stone structures spread over 1,800 acres [720 ha]. He had been traveling in the African veld, where homes were generally made of mud, poles, and grass thatch. He then came upon the stone ruins of a vast city, now called the Great Zimbabwe.

      These ruins are located just south of the area now known as Masvingo. Some of the walls are over 30 feet [9 m] high, granite stones laid upon one another without mortar. Within the ruins, there is an unusual conical tower rising some 35 feet [11 m] from a base that measures 20 feet [6 m] in diameter. The exact purpose of this edifice remains unknown. The ruins date back to the eighth century C.E., but there is evidence that the site was occupied hundreds of years before that.