Excavating a rubbish dump at Great Zimbabwe, archaeologists uncover pottery, cattle teeth, and something unexpected: a piece of pottery with tiny traces of metal. Could this mysterious find reveal more about the daily lives, technology, and activities of the people who lived in this remarkable ancient city?
TRANSCRIPT
[Narrator] The team's first challenge: determining where on the massive site they should dig.
Instead of the majestic walled enclosures, Shadreck chooses a precarious slope on the side of a steep hill.
Why here?
[Shadreck Chirikure] This is a rubbish dump.
What we are hoping to find here is a record of what people were eating, and also things that they used every day, so that we can understand how did they live?
[Indistinguishable speaking] [Narrator] Excavation director Dr.
Russell Kapumha must now dig a trench in this challenging location.
This is a very steep slope, so it becomes very, very difficult to walk on or just to navigate.
Okay, okay.
Right.
So we've just started the excavation, and I just found this-- this tooth.
It could be cow.
It's a decent size.
Yes, that's a pot.
This is local pottery.
It is graphite burnished.
You have literally just scraped the surface, and all of this is turning up.
[Narrator] Cattle teeth and pottery shards are a promising start.
But suddenly, Shadreck spots something unusual.
At first glance, this rock-like lump could be just another fragment of a cooking pot... but held in the sunlight, it suddenly sparkles.
There are some tiny pieces of metal.
[Narrator] Can these traces of metal reveal more about Great Zimbabwe?