CHAPTER VIII
NOTES ON ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE AT GREAT ZIMBABWE
(_Continued_)
Drains—Battering of Walls—Monoliths—Soapstone Monoliths and Beams—Granite and Slate Beams—Cement dadoes—Built-up Crevices—Holes in Walls other than Drains—Blind Steps and Platforms—Ancient Walls at a Distance from Main Walls—Cement—Caves and Rock Holes.
DRAINS IN ELLIPTICAL TEMPLE
_Drains through main walls_:—
1. At (352 ft.);[43] from Parallel Passage to exterior of temple; has a decided fall outwards; curves round at half through towards south; covered with large slabs; inner hole 1 in. below granite cement floor of passage, which slopes downwards from either side towards hole; interior opening 14 in. high, 9 in. wide; exterior opening, 12 in. high, 6 in. wide.
Between Nos. 1 and 2 drains the cement floor rises a few inches to a raised step-barrier 4 in. high, 3 ft. 10 in. broad, from which the flooring slopes down to No. 2 drain, thus forming catchment areas for each drain to clear off rain-water, so that each drain only had such an area to clear which its capacity would allow.
2. At (391 ft.); from Parallel Passage to exterior of temple; decided fall outwards; curves towards north-east; covered with large slabs; cement floor of passage level with floor of drain; interior opening 11 in. high, 11 in. wide; exterior opening 17 in. high, 11 in. wide.
[Facing this drain and on the west side of the passage is the drain (No. 7) from No. 14 Enclosure, described later.]
3. At (442 ft.); from Parallel Passage to Outer Parallel Passage; fairly straight; steep fall outwards; covered with large slabs; interior opening 12 in. high, 8 in. wide; exterior opening 15 in. high, 6 in. wide. [It was from this drain that fragments of cement lining were taken.]
4. At (476 ft.); from Parallel Passage to Outer Parallel Passage; partially obstructed at half-way through by stones and dirt; very decided fall outwards; curves slightly towards east; covered with large slabs; interior opening 11 in. high, 7 in. wide; exterior opening 10 in. high, 10 in. wide.
5. At (515 ft.); from Parallel Passage to Outer Parallel Passage; interior opening buried in débris supporting wall threatening to collapse; exterior opening 10 in. high, 6 in. wide; covered with large slabs; exterior portion shows decided fall outwards; clear for 8 ft., probably further.
6. At (549 ft.); from No. 2 Enclosure to exterior of temple; clear for 13 ft. from interior; exterior opening buried under very old Makalanga clay floor; covered with large slabs; interior opening 11 in. high, 8 in. wide; shows a fall outwards.
[Drains Nos. 1–6 pass through main wall at points where it is from 13 ft. 6 in. to 16 ft. wide.]
_Drains through divisional walls_:—
7. From No. 14 Enclosure to Parallel Passage facing drain 2 at (391 ft.); exterior opening 12 in. high, 7 in. wide; shows outward fall; covered with large slabs; passes through wall 6 ft. wide at drain level; interior end blocked up.
8. From No. 11 Enclosure to Sacred Enclosure (east); on north side of small conical tower; penetrated for 6 ft., at which point it is blocked up; rises sharply inside; exterior opening 9 in. high, 6 in. wide; interior opening blocked up and covered over.
9. At north end of South Passage; from South Passage to Parallel Passage; decided fall outwards; covered with large slabs; clear for 5 ft.; interior opening 10 in. high, 8 in. wide; blocked up at outer opening by débris supporting dilapidated wall.
[Pieces of granite cement lining also found here in 1892 and 1902.]
10. From No. 1 to No. 3 Enclosures; at south corner of No. 3; exterior opening 11 in. high and 7 in. wide; shows fall outwards; covered with slabs; curves towards south; clear for 6 ft. 6 in.; interior opening covered by clay floor of Makalanga hut.
11. From No. 15 Enclosure to Inner Parallel Passage; fall outwards; exterior opening 12 in. high, 8 in. wide; interior opening blocked up and covered over by soil and wall débris; clear for 5 ft.
_Drains at entrances_:—
12. Through south entrance to South Passage; discovered by Sir John Willoughby; under centre of steps; outlet on lower face of steps.
13. Under step and parallel with wall at entrance to Sacred Enclosure (west) from No. 9 Enclosure; two similar drains on Acropolis.
_Drains through an outer wall_:—
14. On north-west side of southern end of North-East Passage; through base of wall 4 ft. 6 in. wide; eastern exterior opening 8 in. high, 9 in. wide; covered with lintels; clear for 3 ft.; extended eastwards as an open drain 8 in. wide towards foot of steps of north entrance to the temple.
15. Through wall dividing No. 10 Enclosure from Platform Area. This has a fall eastwards, and is in a good state of preservation.
DRAINS AT ACROPOLIS RUINS
16. In Western Temple, in divisional wall “A” (see plan and description); drain-hole passes 5 ft. from north to south; northern opening 9 in. high, 11 in. wide; impossible to state the fall owing to stones and dirt inside; fragments of cement lining were found here in 1891, 1892, and 1902. [The interior of this temple was on the north side of wall “A,” as well as on the south side of wall “D,” much higher than between these two walls, which form a small amphitheatre (Bent) within and at the west end of the larger amphitheatre formed by the main walls of the temple. This is obvious to anyone examining the interior. Practical builders have recently stated their belief that when the lower and western side of this smaller amphitheatre is cleared of débris drains will be found at the base of the main west wall, which, so far as discoveries have been made, is the widest ancient wall in Rhodesia. The whole interior of the temple, and the formation rock over which, but not upon which, it is built, slant at all points downwards to the foot of the inner face of the main wall.]
17. On west side of Upper Passage and leading from _Little Enclosure_; exterior opening 9 in. high, 6 in. wide; clear for 3 ft. inwards; interior opening covered with débris.
18. East corner of South Enclosure A; through south wall; 4 ft. long; fall outwards; covered with large slabs; exterior opening 12 in. high, 8 in. wide; interior opening dilapidated.
19. East entrance of Eastern Temple leading from temple to Gold Furnace Enclosure; under pavement of entrance; still 5 in. deep.
DRAINS IN VALLEY OF RUINS
20. In B section of Posselt Ruins in a divisional wall at extreme north-west end of ruins.
21. In B section of Posselt Ruins in a divisional wall on north side 4 ft. wide.
22. In B section of Posselt Ruins in main south wall.
23. In Philips Ruins through a substantial wall east of large curved wall.
24. In Philips Ruins through wall on east side of previous drain.
25. In Mauch Ruins in divisional wall.
26. In Mauch Ruins in east main wall.
27. In Mauch Ruins in east wall of the outer enclosure.
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_The battering of walls._—The backward incline of both faces of walls from their bases to summits is a general characteristic in ancient architecture at Zimbabwe, and in all other ruins which belong to the earliest known type of ancient buildings in this country. This feature, so far as examinations have been made, is conspicuous by its absence from all buildings of the second or later period. So noticeable is this feature in the main walls of the Elliptical Temple that visitors viewing the walls from the interior constantly affirm their belief that the walls have commenced to lean over towards the exterior, and when viewing the exterior faces of the identical walls declare that the walls are leaning inwards and must ultimately fall inside the building. This is a mere optical delusion.
The main walls, portions of which are believed to have stood some 3,500 years, are, if given the same conditions to which they have been subjected in past times, quite likely to be standing at the end of another millennium, if not longer, for the battering-back is a most important element of their massive strength, and has proved to be the main factor in securing their durability. Of course, some main walls in certain places show signs of bulging out and of damage caused by earth movements, possibly earthquakes, also by lightning, the sinking of foundations by water or damp, or growth of trees within their open dry masonry during the long period since their erection. Some faces of the walls show a complete swagging from end to end of their lengths, and yet the batter-back has preserved the walls practically intact throughout with each block occupying its original relative position. The appearance of such walls strongly suggests the effects of earthquake, and while these earth-movements would destroy a plumb wall, a wall with a severe batter-back, such as is seen in all the older walls at Zimbabwe, would on this account be comparatively safe from such effects.
In some instances the battering is very severe and exceeds that of 1 ft. in 6 ft., and the native labourers can scale such with ease. Looking at the rounded extremities of any of the most ancient walls, one notices that their sides resemble the lines of a lighthouse as popularly conceived, in many instances the batter-back being more severe near the base and near the summit, and many of such rounded ends of walls where still perfect show very graceful lines of battering. So carefully is the batter-back worked out in the courses that looking up or down the face of the wall one can scarcely see a quarter of an inch of face of protruding block out of the line of the battering.
To secure the batter of the walls the blocks are not slanted downwards at their inner side, but are laid on a true dead level reaching from face to face of the wall on either side, and in their outer courses their outside edges are placed back from the outer course below. So slightly do these courses recede one above another that in the height of only a few courses it would be almost impossible to detect the presence of any battering, while it is very decidedly noticeable in a height of some few feet.
Bent’s estimate of the extent of the battering of walls at Zimbabwe, namely, 1 ft. in 6 ft., is fairly exact with regard to many of the walls, but excessive with regard to others, such as the main walls of the Elliptical Temple, while for many walls it is perfectly correct. The battering in most instances being more perceptible near base and summit than on the intermediate face of the wall, and the summits in many cases having disappeared, the batter-back, as ascertained by plumb lines, has consequently been considerably reduced. Where the original summits are still practically intact, and where there have been no bulging out of the faces of the walls, and the top courses on the edges do not lean outwards as they frequently do, on account of creeper and tree growths, the 1 ft. in 6 ft. is frequently approached, for instance, south wall _Western Temple_, 4 ft. 8 in. in 31 ft.; _Pattern Passage_, 2 ft. in 13 ft. In low walls 1 ft. in 6 ft. is very frequently reached.
The main walls of the Elliptical Temple, as shown in the _Table of Battering_ (see _Elliptical Temple, Main Wall_, Chapter IX.), are much less than 1 ft. in 6 ft., a fair average for inside faces being 1 ft. in 11 ft., but at some points it is only 1 ft. in 15 ft., and for outside faces 1 ft. in 10 ft. and 1 ft. in 8 ft.
(For the battering of the _Conical Towers_, see descriptions of those structures.)
• • • • •
_Monoliths._—In most of the ruins of both major and minor importance at Zimbabwe, numerous beams of slate and granite, varying from 4 ft. to 14 ft. in length, have been found, some of the slate beams showing signs of having been treated with tools. It has been the custom of many writers to call these beams “monoliths.” In the greater number of instances these beams can be shown never to have been employed as monoliths. So far, at Zimbabwe, authenticated monoliths have been discovered only at the Elliptical Temple, and the Eastern and Western Temples of the Acropolis and Philips Ruins. Many of the beams found in these buildings are not and never were employed as monoliths, and the greatest possible care has to be taken in discriminating between monoliths and ordinary beams.
Monoliths have their bases marked and worn by the stones in the sides of the holes on the summits of the walls in which they now stand or once stood, as if they had later become loose and had moved or even oscillated constantly while still in a fairly upright position. The marking of such as have fallen shows that they were made by rubbing against the edges of the enclosing blocks when the monoliths were in a perpendicular position, while some of the jagged notches on the bases must have been made when the monoliths were in a slanting position. The stumps of beams left in the side walls of entrances and passages which were once covered by slate and granite lintels, and across which the upper portions of the walls were carried, do not show the same markings; in fact, such ends of slate and granite lintels are not found to be worn by the friction caused by contact with the edges of blocks, and besides, these lack all evidence of having occupied a perpendicular position, or of having been exposed to the weather. Monoliths are decomposed and weather-worn on all faces, but there is generally more lichen on their south faces.
Further, the bases of monoliths, plain or carved, especially those of soapstone and slate, are found to have their lowest extremities water-worn into smooth faces or grooves at such points round their faces where the bases did not come in contact with the enclosing blocks, and this smoothing has obviously been caused by rain-water running down the faces of the monoliths to the lowest part of their bases, till at last, especially those of slate, the bases which were once of greater circumference have become worn and tapered. The thickness of the wall and the depth to which the bases of the monoliths were built into them would prevent the sun’s heat drying the damp bases, and would so keep them moist for a long time after every shower. This constant moisture has caused the bases to splinter while the exposed portions of the monoliths remained practically intact. This water-wearing and the splintering on account of damp are absent in beams employed for any purpose in a horizontal position, and these usually show unmistakable signs of having been very well preserved from the effects of the weather, and the extremities of such beams do not taper, neither have they become splintered, and are usually as wide as the main portion of the beam.
Undoubted monoliths of granite and slate have been found used by Makalanga as building material for their walls, and also as posts for cattle kraals. Also, in many cases, as posts for graves, and for decoration of Makalanga walls.
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_Soapstone monoliths and beams._—Monoliths of soapstone have only been found in the three temples, but in greater profusion in the Eastern Temple on the Acropolis, and at Philips Ruins. Here they were found by their sections to have been of various diameters, but every one had been shaped with tools, some being artistically, others only crudely, decorated, but the majority were plain. Chevron pattern was evidently the favourite design employed. The Makalanga are believed to have used some of the broken sections of soapstone monoliths and beams for carving their _I-daha_ pipe-bowls, in making which they are known to have excelled. This would save them the necessity of transporting the material to Zimbabwe from the soapstone formation, the nearest point of which is twelve miles in a north-western direction. Natives to-day have been seen taking away very small splinters of soapstone found in the débris heaps. These they cut with a knife into any crude shape that may be suggested to their passing fancy. The number of bases of soapstone monoliths is far greater than the number of splintered or broken sections found in the wall-débris heaps along the foot of the walls.
Several sections of rounded soapstone beams were also found among the blocks on the summit of the main wall of the Elliptical Temple, and other sections were also discovered here in the débris at the foot of either side of the main wall. These sections, though plain, are beautifully finished, but being the lower portions above the bases, are without pattern. Probably the higher portions were decorated, as the decoration in several instances of soapstone beams discovered does not extend low down on the monoliths. The radii of the sections found in the Elliptical Temple varied considerably, while some had flat-worked faces with narrow ends artificially rounded.
The discovery in all three temples of so many bases and sections of different sized soapstone monoliths suggests the question: Have the present standing slate and granite monoliths been, at any rate in some instances, erected at a later period to replace fallen or fractured soapstone monoliths?
(_a_) Splinters of undoubted soapstone monoliths, some carved with geometrical patterns, have been found in large quantities in the lowest strata of wall-débris at each of the three temples only; sometimes they were found on the formation rock and below the wall débris, but at the foot of all the faces of the walls on the summits of which are at present only slate and unhewn granite are monoliths still more or less complete and erect.
(_b_) On the summits of walls on which are slate and granite monoliths numerous small fragments of rounded lengths of soapstone, identical with soapstone beams and some similarly carved, have been found. These instances were frequently noticed in all the temples, May-November, 1902, but especially in the Elliptical Temple, where are now only granite and slate monoliths.
Bent deduced from the various succeeding styles of Zimbabwe architecture that the ancient style of workmanship changed its form some time between the period of the earliest builders and the later ones, and this would explain why the original monoliths were of more artistic form, with carvings and decorations. How far this has any connection with the theory of the probable substitution, patent, at any rate, in some instances, of plain and unhewn granite and slate monoliths for the fallen and ornate soapstone monoliths, it might be premature to enlarge upon at present, for, judging by the condition of the oldest walls on which certain granite monoliths are fixed, some of these monoliths sunk deep into the summits of the walls were obviously erected when the walls were originally constructed. For instance, one carved soapstone monolith was found built into a wall on the north side of the Western Temple to a depth of 5 ft., while the original height of the wall could not have been more than 8 ft.
However, both ancient architecture and relics unquestionably prove that between the earliest and the latest periods of ancient occupation there was a marked falling off and decadence in the conception and erection of both buildings and in the character of the articles found.
• • • • •
_Number of monoliths still more or less erect._—The number of monoliths still erect, or which have fallen, is as follows, but the number may be further increased as the débris at the bases of the temple walls is examined:—
At Elliptical Temple.—Nine granite monoliths still erect, nine fallen; no slate monoliths erect, five fallen; two granite monoliths, one of which is fractured, stand in No. 5 Enclosure.
At Eastern Temple, Acropolis.—There are no soapstone monoliths now standing, but a considerable number of sections of slate and soapstone monoliths, including bases, were found in the débris. Mr. Posselt, who resided at Zimbabwe before the Chartered Company took possession of the country, states that in 1888 three soapstone beams, with birds on their summits, were standing in the interior of the left-hand side of the West Entrance, and one at the northern end of the summit of the main east wall, on which is the dentelle pattern. The three beams stood on a small raised platform, and as this temple was then used as a cattle kraal, the cattle rubbed against them and eventually pushed over the beams.
At Western Temple, Acropolis.—There are twelve slate and four granite monoliths still standing on the walls, and four slate monoliths, three still intact, have been found in wall-débris. Originally those on the south and west walls were exactly equi-distant. Bent found and removed several sections of different soapstone monoliths, both decorated and plain, but he found no soapstone bird in this temple. In 1891 the lower portion of a soapstone bird was discovered and taken to Johannesburg, and its whereabouts are at present unknown. In August, 1902, the head and neck of this same bird were found, as also a length of the beam upon which it stood, and this is beautifully carved with chevron pattern. This beam originally stood on the summit of the north wall.
All slate monoliths are plain, but many of those of slate have been rounded with tools of which they bear the markings.
Several monoliths have fallen since 1888. One immense granite beam which occupied an upright position immediately north of _The Platform_ in the Elliptical Temple has disappeared since 1891. A monolith in the interior facing the _Western Entrance_ has fallen within the last few years, while a tall granite beam at the same spot has broken off just above the ground within the same period. Another tall granite beam occupied the _Central Area_ in the temple, and this has also disappeared within the last seven years.[44] Relic prospectors of the nineties appear to have excavated round the spots occupied by monoliths and caused their fall.
The finest specimen of a bird on a soapstone beam yet discovered at Zimbabwe was found by the author in _Philips Ruins_ in February, 1903.
• • • • •
_Slate and granite beams._—These are plentifully found in all the enclosures. Sections and splinters of slate beams are found in entrances which have portcullis grooves, one still standing in position 8 ft. above the floor. Slate beams used as entrance posts in portcullis grooves were erected before the building of the entrance, as the enclosing blocks follow the irregularities of the beams. Wood posts found in some portcullis grooves in poorer built walls are not considered ancient, and their comparative modernity is testified to by experienced builders who have very recently examined a collection of such posts. Mopani hard wood and mahobohobo have not been used in all such instances, some of the posts being of soft wood. Wooden posts have not so far been found in well-built entrances. The posts outside the clay huts of old Makalanga are older in appearance and condition than the majority of the posts found in the poorer entrances, though they very closely resemble one another in measurements and in the wood used. In one instance the groove was too large for the wooden post which had been wedged in with granite splinters, the granite being only slightly weathered.
Slate and granite beams were also employed for the bonds and ties of walls, also for ties in sharply curved walls, also for supporting the roofs over covered passages.
The nearest point to the slate formation is seven miles in a north-easterly direction. It is believed that the long granite beams were brought from the Lumbo Rocks, one and three-quarter miles to the south, where a great quantity of exactly similar shaped beams are to be seen lying scattered round the high perpendicular column of granite, the sides of which split off into the shape of the long monoliths found on the Acropolis.
• • • • •
_Cement dadoes._—One of the discoveries made recently in clearing the lower portions of interior faces of walls from débris, which appears to have covered them for centuries, is that some portions of such walls have been found to be covered with the remains of excellent granite cement dadoes. This is particularly to be noticed on three walls of the _Sacred Enclosure_, on the south wall of _No. 11 Enclosure_, and at the _Little Enclosure_ and the _Upper Passage_ on the Acropolis, and in other ruins where portions of this dado still remain.
These dadoes extended to a height of 7 ft., the cement being found in patches still intact and in the joints of the blocks to this height, the courses above this height being entirely free from traces of cement.
In passages and narrow places great quantities of this cement lay on the original floors along the bottoms of the walls on either side, some fragments showing on their backs the ribbed markings of the courses up against which the cement had been pressed, also bevelled edges, as if from the top and ends of such dadoes. This was particularly the experience on clearing out the _Parallel Passage_ in the Elliptical Temple. It is possible that these dadoes had once facings of white soapstone clay, beautifully smoothed, for this was found on some fragments of such cement dadoes, and the facing, when cut with a knife, powdered exactly as soapstone does.
It can be noticed by anyone that the lower portions of the walls which once had dadoes have their block faces somewhat roughly built as compared with the upper portions of the walls. This appears to suggest that the original builders, in erecting the wall, had calculated upon certain portions of the faces being covered with dadoes. These rougher surfaces would provide a better hold for the cement than would the smoother faces of the walls above.
The cavities in the dry masonry of the main walls of the Elliptical Temple contain cooled air even at noontide, and this rushes out from between the courses with such a force as to make it impossible to light a match close to them, while it is a very easy matter to carry on a conversation through a wall 15 ft. thick and 32 ft. high.
To the original builders who, as is shown elsewhere, thoroughly understood and appreciated the art of sanitation, it is quite probable that these dadoes were considered necessary, especially as these dry masonry walls are the homes of snakes, lizards, and other unpleasant reptiles and creatures which probably were more abundant here three thousand years ago when, as competent scientists affirm, the climate was more humid. Whether for the exclusion of sound, for the securing of privacy, for the protection of their dwellings from reptiles, or to avoid the tearing by rough granite blocks in very narrow passages of such garments as they might have worn, or for the purpose of artistic effect—and these ancients practised several fine arts—the fact has recently been revealed that at any rate some of the ancient walls were once covered with these cement dadoes.[45]
• • • • •
_Built-up crevices._—On the Acropolis Hill cliffs and boulders form such prominent features that these have often been employed as sides of enclosures. The ancients were in many instances at great pains to build up crevices and fissures in rocks, especially where these are in or near the enclosures. Even small crevices only a foot or so wide, and penetrating into the face of the cliffs and rocks for but two or three feet, the front being the only part giving access to such fissures, are carefully built up flush with the face of the rock. Some large perpendicular fissures in the cliffs have been so built up to an immense height. One fissure on the south side of the Rock Holes Path has been built up for 40 ft. above the ground. This fissure is from 1 ft. to 3 ft. wide. The effect caused by this column of blocks running up the face of the cliff is very strange. Some fissures are so narrow that very small blocks have been used. From some of such fissures the built-up courses have fallen away, leaving a few courses, here and there at different heights wedged in between the sides of the fissures, and occasionally one sees a single block wedged into a fissure at an immense height above any ruin. This building-up of crevices and fissures is to be found almost over the whole face of the hill where no ruins are now to be seen. If two boulders are near together, it may be taken as almost a moral certainty that on examining the boulders they will be found to be connected with a wall, even if the space be only a foot or two wide.
In a similar manner the holes under overhanging boulders have been neatly built up so as to effectually hide the hole. The natives have in two or three instances removed sufficient of the blocks to enable them to pass a corpse through, after which, with their peculiar style of building—column form—they have filled up the gaps with walling.
• • • • •
_Holes in walls other than drains._—This peculiar feature of ancient architecture is especially prominent at the Acropolis, also in East Ruins, and in almost all the ruins in the Valley of Ruins. There are holes, generally square, in the lower parts of the walls at two or three feet above any ancient floor. They are found only on the inside faces of walls, not one as yet having been discovered on the outer face. That they are intentionally made is a matter of ocular demonstration, for many have lintels either of large granite slabs or of slate beams. The blocks of the side framings are all built flush with each other. Their peculiarity is that they do not extend back into the wall for more than the length of a block, in one case of two blocks, and the internal packing blocks in the wall are seen inside. One such recess on the Acropolis shows traces of having once been lined with granite cement. The bottom portion of a similar recess in Upper Passage also has remains of cement lining. The largest recess is to be seen on the west side of a divisional wall in East Ruins. This is 3 ft. high and 1 ft. 10 in. wide. No such recess has so far been discovered in the Elliptical Temple, but at least fifty have been found elsewhere among the ruins.
• • • • •
_Blind steps and platforms._—In several enclosures in the principal ruins at Zimbabwe, but mainly at the Elliptical Temple, and in the angles formed by the meeting of side walls of the enclosures, are to be seen small raised platforms approached by two or three steps. These steps could not have led to higher positions than the small platforms, that is, they could not have been intended for mounting to the summit of the wall, for the bottom steps are at far too short a distance from the walls in comparison with their heights, besides which, the steps and platforms are perfect in themselves, and their summits, judging by the condition of the cement floor, terminated as is seen to-day. Nor are there any signs on the faces of the walls above such platforms of any steps, or that the blocks in the angles of the walls were at any time protected from the weather by any higher structure.
These blind steps surmounted by miniature platforms are made of blocks thickly covered with granite cement similar to that found on the lowest floors of the temple—the steps being large and deep and boldly rounded off. The shape of these erections reminds one of the steps and raised platforms which are frequently seen in stableyards at home, and were once very generally used as mounting blocks.
Bent, unfortunately, discovered only one of these platforms, and this was the one on the north side of the Sacred Enclosure (west), and when he saw it the platform was covered with débris, evidently débris, judging by its age, put there by Dr. Mauch, who had been exploring in this portion of the enclosure. This débris was foreign to this particular spot and had evidently been removed from nearer the Conical Tower. Bent therefore conjectured that these blind steps once led to the summit of the south wall of The Platform. The height of the wall here, 12 ft., could not have been surmounted by these steps, for if carried upwards with the same class of step as below, they would have failed to reach half-way up the wall.
These erections might have served a similar purpose for the enclosures in which they were erected, as did the large Platform immediately in front of the Conical Tower for the whole of the Temple. The best examples are in the north-east corner of No. 12 Enclosure, the south corner of No. 7 Enclosure, both in the Elliptical Temple, and in the south-east corner of the Western Temple and in the north, east, and west angles of the Eastern Temple, both on the Acropolis. Possibly the platform and steps in the South Passage of the Elliptical Temple were used for a similar purpose, for this latter structure, though not built into any angle of walls, is of exactly similar construction to the others.
• • • • •
_Ancient walls at a distance from any main ruins are of a less superior construction._—There is another class of building found in walls erected at a distance from any main ruins, and these, though constructed in a somewhat rougher form, are otherwise all built upon the principles of the First Period of Zimbabwe architecture. These walls can be clearly shown to have formed part of the original purpose, plan, and construction as the main ruins, and prove that the original ancient builders, while devoting their best skill to the temples and residential portions of the building, were satisfied with a somewhat inferior quality of workmanship for their more distant walls, and for such of their outlying buildings as were used for some purpose, judging by the finds, other than those of workshop or residence, most probably as forts, workshops, stores for grain, or as the housing places of slaves.
The close connection between the well-built walls of the main ruins and these outlying walls and buildings is, in many instances, easy to establish, and this may be shown as follows:—
1. The sole difference between the construction of the main ruins and the outlying buildings lies in the quality of workmanship and material, these outlying walls showing all other features of first-period architecture to the exclusion of any feature of the second or later periods of construction.
2. Connecting passages between the inner portions of main ruins and the outlying buildings are well built in and near the main ruins, but are excellently constructed as distance is reached, though the line of foundations throughout, as also the cement flooring, are one and the same.
3. Undoubted ancient floors are laid up to and against such walls.
4. Relics of prehistoric character, similar to those discovered within any of the main ruins, have been found beyond main walls in connecting passages and in the more distant ruins.
These evidences as to the early period during which some of the more distant walls were erected are also found in other large ruins of Southern Rhodesia, but at Zimbabwe, where the Acropolis affords such a commanding view of the lines of walls of the outer ruins and of the directions of recently unburied passages of great length, and of the sweep of the walls connecting main ruins with outlying buildings, the original purpose of many of the walls and minor ruins appears to be very manifest.
In these outer walls the blocks are of far greater size, their shape is frequently irregular, and unhewn stones are employed, but their faces are even on either side and the internal parts are neatly filled in with stones. All these walls have the usual Zimbabwe batter-back, have rounded entrances, and the steps are not built in between the side walls, but are formed by the courses of the foundations. Plumb walls and angular entrances are very rarely met with.
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_Cement._—The original builders of the Zimbabwe ruins, as well as those of later ancient periods, can be seen to have shown a peculiar partiality for the employment of cements for all constructive work save that of building the walls, which are all, without exception, of dry masonry. Evidently the ancients, judging by the immense quantity of cement work throughout the ruins, much of which is still in splendid condition, deliberately avoided the use of cement in the construction of the walls. Probably in this respect, and in the employment of blocks of a certain size, they were but following the methods of building to which they were accustomed before their arrival in this country.
(1) The cement work of the oldest periods has been pronounced by practical builders to have been made of crushed fragments of decomposed granite mixed with a large proportion of lime, the latter being found in Suku Glen (see _Suku Glen_) in extensive areas. This cement is exceedingly hard, and has a glaze on the outer surface which, once broken, has caused the internal body of cement to rapidly decompose into yellow soil. Thus on the faces of steps, dadoes, and all perpendicular work, the cement is more intact, while on flat surfaces where rain-water could not be carried away owing to the stopping up of drains the cement floors are in many instances considerably ruined. Tree roots are rarely found to have penetrated any cement floor which was in a whole condition, and where a root has so penetrated the cement, the root, acting as a conductor of water, has caused all the cement along the line of root to become decomposed. All the roots of trees which have recently been removed from above cement floors are flat, while some of them assume the shape of the structure that was underneath. In one instance the roots of an immense fig tree, which was thought to be over one hundred years old, had wound round and round a circular cement platform which they had failed to penetrate.
This class of cement has been very extensively used by the older occupiers for (_a_) flooring, (_b_) dadoes, (_c_) covering steps and platforms, (_d_) construction of steps and platforms made entirely of cement, (_e_) raised rims for dividing floors into separate catchment areas, so confining rain-water over certain areas to particular drains, (_f_) foundations of walls, (_g_) for short, low divisional walls made entirely of cement.
(2) There is another class of granite cement which closely resembles the first-mentioned, and this is found on the higher levels. It is also yellow, but in it occur pieces of granite, and it has a decidedly coarser appearance. This is not so lavishly laid, being only one or two inches thick, whereas the former cement is most frequently found to have a thickness of at least 6 in., that is, in those instances where the structures are not entirely composed of this cement. A great quantity of this cement work can be seen on the Acropolis or in the Valley of Ruins.
(3) A further class of cement is of a dull reddish colour, containing more soil than granite. Practically it is clay, but so fine and well polished that it deserves the designation of cement. This work had been burnt white, and its material is very strong and far superior to the best clay used by the oldest native occupiers.
(4) A greyish-coloured cement, in which there are large proportions of lime. This is found in ruins. On the summit of Rusivanga Kopje there are floors and walls made of it. There is difference of opinion between builders and native authorities as to the makers of this cement. It is most certainly superior to any such material made by the natives of to-day. It closely resembles, if it is not identical with, the material used in building the two classes of huts Nos. 1 and 2 (see _Native huts found in ruins_). The natives state it is not of any known Makalanga make. It is found in large slabs, as if from the side walls of circular huts, fully 14 ft. in diameter, also in bevelled ruins of all sizes. This cement can be seen in some of the ruins, also on Zimbabwe Hill, where the natives state there has been no occupation, excepting, of course, Mogabe’s brief residence, for at least five generations. Judging by the high-class quality of Kafir “finds” here, it is quite possible that this cement is that of the mediæval Makalanga.
(5) The other descriptions of _daga_ (clay) vary in quality from fairly good to most inferior. These are mere veld soil, without being mixed with lime, and are seen in portions of distinctly old Kafir huts resembling the types Nos. 2 and 3. It is also to be found in quantities on the Bentberg and on Rusivanga Kopje. In many trenches can be seen three or four layers of this _daga_ one above another, each layer being about one inch thick, and there are layers of ashes between the floors.
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_Ancients and caves and rock holes._—There are innumerable rock holes, chasms, and large fissures among the cliffs and boulders of the Acropolis Hill, but there is only one—the Balcony Cave—that actually deserves the title of cave, though this name is bestowed upon them all by several writers. Perhaps Balcony Cave approaches nearest to the general conception of what is a cave. But the holes under beetling boulders which constitute these “caves” are as a rule shallow, low, and narrow.
There are no evidences in any of these holes, so far as they have been examined, that the ancients cut into the rock or quarried to make or improve these holes, the faces of the rock being all natural, and devoid of any traces of their having been worked. Sir John Willoughby makes a similar statement as to the rock never having been cut. It is also noticeable that small spurs of formation rock jutting up through the floors of enclosures have never been cut away. But the ancient builders were very clever in artificially improving the fronts of the rock holes, so as to add extra space to the size of the holes. This was done in at least two instances, though there are traces of its having been done elsewhere. A wall was built at some feet immediately in front of the hole, and this was carried up so high that its summit was connected with the cliff or boulder which rose above and arched outwards in front of the hole. This is seen at South Cave, where a wall was carried up to the over-arching boulder, thus more than doubling the area of the cave (see descriptions of each cave).
There are a series of such rock holes on the north-east side of the hill and on the south of Rock Holes Path. The covered holes between the large boulders look very romantic, and their appearance suggests the probability of there being large caves here, but the appearance is most deceptive. The greatest number of such hollows are to be found at the east end of the Acropolis Hill, and some few of these are worth visiting, but the irregular and rugged contour of that face of the hill makes climbing there a most difficult matter, besides which our labourers have recently killed two tiger-cats at these holes, and they state that there are more of such animals there.
Some few only of the caves near the main ruins of the Acropolis have had cemented floors, the formation rock being in most instances sufficiently smooth and level to make it unnecessary to lay cement floors. Platform Cave has at least three levels of cement flooring one above another.
The purposes for which these caves have been used cannot be determined, for the finds made in them were very meagre and common, most being Makalanga hoes, spearheads, brass wire bangles still containing hair or grass, and fragments of pottery of poor and modern make. The only caves which yielded anything of antique character were Platform and Balcony Caves. In the former were sections of soapstone monoliths and fragments of soapstone bowls. In the latter were about a dozen large slate beams and plain soapstone beams. The soil in this cave has often been panned by visitors, as there has always been an idea that gold dust was once stored here. Almost all the pannings showed faint traces of gold, and one or two rather richly. Theodore Bent, Sir John Willoughby, and also many searchers for relics, have practically cleared the most important of these caves of all finds.
A cave hole under an immense boulder on the south side of the Gold Furnace Enclosure is about 15 ft. square, but one has to crouch low down to move about in it. Here have been found quantities of quartz, copper ore, and ironstone, pieces of beaten copper and copper wire, sections of gold crucibles, and pottery whorls. No industry could have been carried on in this low-roofed area, but gold-, copper-, and iron-smelting were evidently conducted in the adjoining and higher Gold Furnace Enclosure, and this hole or chasm, as Bent calls it, was used for depositing the debris from such furnaces.
Nearly all the rock holes on Zimbabwe Hill had been used for some purposes—up to four years ago by the Makalanga as burial-places, the hill abounding in such graves. Now the local Makalanga are prohibited burying on this hill, and at the same time their kraal was removed from the Acropolis. The bodies were placed in the corners of these rock holes and piled over with stones; the pot, assegais, knobkerries—and in one instance a large bark-string hunting-net, 5 ft. high and about 30 yds. long—which belonged to the deceased, were laid upon the top of the stones.
There are no Bushman paintings in any of these caves, nor on the immense rocks which are strewn all over the hill. Nor does the district round about possess any of these paintings. Almost every kopje within a few miles of Zimbabwe has very recently been carefully examined for walls, relics, caves, and paintings, several of the hills having been within the last few months ascended several times from various points. Natives, farmers, and prospectors state that these are altogether absent from this portion of the Victoria district.
But caves and rock holes are very numerous on some of the kopjes which are within an easy walk of the ruins, and if some of these were cleared out some discoveries might possibly be made. It will be recalled that both the ancient cylinder with rosettes, the wooden platter with the signs of the zodiac, and the notorious pot “Fuko-ya-Nebandge” were all found in caves at some little distance from Zimbabwe.