Khami ruins recorded during nineteenth-century travel

Record summary

The stone-built settlement of Khami, a major successor state associated with the later phases of Great Zimbabwe tradition, was described by European travelers and colonial officials before systematic twentieth-century excavation. Its decorated walls, terraces, and settlement organization make it important for comparing regional political economies, stone architecture, and chronology. The nineteenth-century material is primarily documentary rather than a securely dated excavation assemblage. Researchers should separate early descriptions of visible ruins from later archaeological interpretations based on stratigraphy and radiocarbon evidence.