View source for Ziwa

{{Short description|Archaeological site in Zimbabwe}}
{{About||the reserve in [[Uganda]]|Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary|the Aramaic term|Ziwa (Aramaic)}}

{{coord|18|08|S|32|38|E|region:ZW|display=title}}
[[Image:Ziwa enclosure trees.JPG|thumb|250px|Ziwa ruins, enclosure view from a distance.]]
'''Ziwa'''<ref>formerly Van Niekerk ruins after Major Pompey Van Niekerk who was second in command of the Afrikaner Corps</ref> is an [[archaeological site]] in [[Nyanga District]], [[Zimbabwe]], containing the remains of a vast late [[Iron Age]] agricultural settlement dated to the 15th century. It is one of many sites that compose the Nyanga Iron Age ruins.<ref>{{harvnb|Soper|2006|page=''v''}}</ref> Ziwa was declared a National Monument in 1946 and is currently under consideration for [[World Heritage]] listing. The site contains a large variety of stonework structures including stone terraces running along contours of hills and steep landscapes. Archaeological investigations have also uncovered important aspects of pottery and rock art.

Before the declaration of the site as a National Monument, Ziwa had been part of the commercial farms area and was thus under private ownership. A great deal of damage or degradation of antiquities may have been wrought during this period as the farmer used the property as a cattle ranch. Currently a site [[museum]] (with tourist facilities such as camping, guided tours, walking trails, bird viewing, etc.) has been established to represent the Ziwa heritage and other archaeological sites in the Nyanga district.

Despite the abandonment of the site by its inhabitants in the 18th century, Ziwa continued to be of significance to the later communities that settled in its neighbourhood.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Shumba |first=Missias |date=2003 |title=Ziwa National Monument: Its significance to the local people Hangs delicately in the balance |url=http://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/494/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518014637/http://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/494/ |archive-date=18 May 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Description==
Ziwa bears evidence of human occupation for all the major archaeological periods identified in Zimbabwe's archaeological sequence. That is from [[hunter-gatherer]] periods of the [[Stone Age]] to historical times. The {{convert|3337|ha}} of land comprise: Stone Age deposits, rock art sites, early farming communities settlements, a landscape of later farming communities marked by terraces and field systems, hill forts, [[pit structures]] and stone enclosures, iron [[smelting]] and forging furnaces and numerous remains of daub-plastered housing structures.

==Image gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Ziwa enclosure model.JPG|Part of Ziwa ruins scale model, taken in visitors centre
Image:Ziwa ruins pitentrance.JPG|Pit entrance
Image:Ziwa ruins wall.JPG|Enclosure double wall
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[History of Zimbabwe]]
* [[Nyanga, Zimbabwe]]
* [[Great Zimbabwe]]
* [[Dhlo-Dhlo]]
* [[Khami]]

==Notes and references==
<references />

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book|last=Soper |first=Robert |year=2006 |title=The terrace builders of Nyanga |location=Harare, Zimbabwe |publisher=Weaver Press for African Books Collective |isbn=978-1-77922-061-5 }}

==External links==
*Ziwa entry on the [https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/903/ UNESCO World Heritage site]

[[Category:Archaeological sites in Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Manicaland Province]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Nyanga District]]
[[Category:Ruins in Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Manicaland Province]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites of Eastern Africa]]