Great Zimbabwe, Mashonaland, Rhodesia: An account of two years' examination work in 1902-4 on behalf of the government of RhodesiaHall, R. N. (Richard Nicklin)
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Great Zimbabwe, Mashonaland, Rhodesia: An account of two years' examination work in 1902-4 on behalf of the government of Rhodesia
Hall, R. N. (Richard Nicklin)
Great Zimbabwe (Extinct city); Zimbabwe -- Antiquities
(_e_) Frequently such walls are built in a very irregular line along
the almost buried summits of ancient walls, and across filled-in
entrances and even passages, the foundations of such walls projecting
from underneath the Makalanga walls on either side.
(_f_) Some of the Makalanga walls are built over damp, black leaf mould
containing undecayed vegetable matter and also ordinary Kafir articles,
the mould being over a stratum of red clay foundations of Makalanga
huts, and with two or three feet of soil and stones between the clay
and any floor below for which antiquity could be claimed. Makalanga
pottery has been used to support and wedge up uneven ends of blocks.
(_g_) The made foundations of Makalanga walls are of common clay, those
of ancient walls being of a splendid quality of granite cement.
(_h_) Nothing ancient or even approaching to antiquity is ever
discovered on the levels of the bases of Makalanga walls, but round
about their bases quantities of Makalanga articles may be found, some
perhaps of better make and quality than now produced by them.
(_i_) Local natives can to-day build very fair stone walls, but these
have straight joints and are without tie or bonding, the courses are
most erratic, and the line of wall wavering. The common feature of
Makalanga wall construction is to build the stones up exactly over one
another, giving the appearance to the wall of being built on columns.
Their stone walls of cattle kraals can be seen in many deserted
villages, as well as other of their walls where there are no ancient
ruins. The Makalanga graves in the passages, both in the Elliptical
Temple and in the Acropolis, were very well built in with cross-walls.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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