The Great Zimbabwe’s ancient plan is divided into two distinct parts: the hill complex and the valley complexes. The king preserved most of his treasures in the hill complex. Even though he resided in the Imba Huru, most of his time was spent in performing rituals on the hill. The hill complex is characterized with numerous enclosures. However, the smelting and the iron-keeping enclosures are considered as the most recognized in the structural mysteries of the Great Zimbabwe. The mystery of the valley complexes is that they were built using impressive blocks without making the use of modern construction devices such as the mortar.
When Qin Shi Huang died, he was buried in one of the most complex tomb believed to have been ever constructed. As documented in the scholarly articles and journals of the mysteries of ancient history in Great Zimbabwe, Tomb of Shihuangdi is a complicated structure characterized with underground caverns comprising of everything that would be required by the emperor for the afterlife. The mystery of the complexity and monumental size of the Tomb of Shihuangdi is that it utilized extraordinary construction skills, yet there are no documented details of the builders. Hence, it has been argued that Imba Huru demonstrated an astonishing degree of administrative, as well as a social achievement by engaging stone masons and other people involved on the grand scale (Stiebing, 1993).
Even so, most scholars have tried to explain the mystery surrounding the Tomb of Shihuangdi using different theories such as scientist theory and historian theory. The historian theory postulates that the entire structure of the tomb was created by the emperor including a ceiling that resembles a night sky characterized with pearls to symbolize the stars. Based on this theory, the tomb is believed to be surrounded by rivers containing liquid mercury symbolizing immortality. On the other hand, the scientific theory on the Tomb of Shihuangdi postulates that the emperor died as a result of ingesting mercury since he used to take mercury pills to make him immortal (Eugene, 2005).
Nonetheless, I consider the historian theory as the most plausible in explaining the mystery of the monumental size and the complexity of the Tomb of Shihuangdi. In the ancient historical times, mercury was considered by the emperor as a magical fluid since it was a metal with the ability to flow like water. The magnificent structure of the tomb was considered mystical since it utilized topographical model in the Great Zimbabwe. Based on the historian theory, the mystery of the tomb is yet to be unrevealed since there exist no documents that give details about its construction. Although, the archeologists have been able to unfold most of the mysteries concerning Great Zimbabwe, the mystery of the Tomb of Shihuangdi is yet to be unrevealed since the soil surrounding it is believed to be highly contaminated with mercury, a poisonous substance to the health of human beings (Renfrew & Bahn, 2013).
References
Eugene, T. (2005). Mysteries of the ancient world. Washington, D.C: National Geographic Society.
Renfrew, C. & Bahn, P. (2013). Archaeology: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge.
Stiebing, W. H. (1993). Uncovering the past: A history of archaeology. New York [u.a.: Oxford University Press.
