Bambandyanalo is an archaeological site in present-day

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

, just north of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountain ...

. It flourished from the 11th to 13th centuries, being a predecessor to the Great Zimbabwe culture. The ruins have survived because much of the complex was built in stone. The site contains a large mound, some 180 metres in diameter, and covers an area of about 5 hectares. It is surrounded on three sides by sandstone cliffs (Wood 2005:86). In the

11th century The 11th century is the period from 1001 ( MI) through 1100 ( MC) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the 1st century of the 2nd millennium. In the history of Europe, this period is considered the early part of the High Middle Ages. ...

, Bambandyanalo developed its influence over the region and established itself as a hub in the trade connecting the African inland with the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

(Hall 1987:83). It was closely associated with

Mapungubwe The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (or Maphungubgwe) (c. 1075–c. 1220) was a medieval state in South Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers, south of Great Zimbabwe. The name is derived from either TjiKalanga and Tshivenda ...

and was a precursor to the much better known Great Zimbabwe near

Masvingo Masvingo is a city in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city is situated close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and close to Lake Mutirikwi, its recreational park, ...

, 125 miles to the northeast. The climate was wetter when Bambandyanalo flourished (the " medieval warm period"), and archaeological evidence (carbonized seeds) shows that sorghum and millets were cultivated (Huffman 1996:57). Sometime around 1270 however, the climate changed for the worse ("the little ice age") and the settlement was abandoned as the crops repeatedly failed. This was the period when Great Zimbabwe began its rise to prominence, as it had a better climate due to its location by the South East escarpment.

References

* Archaeological sites in Zimbabwe Archaeological sites of Eastern Africa {{Africa-archaeology-stub