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
(4) There is another class of native hut which is not very frequently
found in Southern Rhodesia, but is commonly met with in Basutoland
and Swaziland, and in other territories further south. At Zimbabwe
there are four such huts on the higher floors of filled-in ruins. This
class of hut is constructed of cement of a good quality and of great
thickness, with no poles to support the roof. It is circular in form,
and from its exterior sides are four, sometimes five, short radiating
walls of stones extending outward some 5 ft. or 6 ft. The walls are
about 4 ft. wide, and in height reach almost to the top of the cement
sides of the hut. The entrance usually has an immense cement buttress
on either side, while between each radiating wall, and at the base of
the side of the hut, runs a cement bevel rounded on its outer edge as
if to form a seat. This bevel is about 14 in. high and 16 in. wide. In
all weathers and at any time of day the occupiers could have sat in
some one of these partially open spaces between the radiating walls
sheltered from sun, rain, or wind. The remains of two such huts were
found in the Western Temple on the Acropolis, and one of the radiating
walls of one of them, which was more exposed and less ruined than the
other short walls, was fixed upon by Swan as an “altar.” This wall is B
wall, mentioned in the description of the Western Temple, which follows
in Chapter XV.
• • • • •
_Passages._—Every writer on Zimbabwe appears to have been greatly
struck with the number of passages both at the Elliptical Temple and
on the Acropolis, and particularly with their labyrinthine character.
During 1902–4 further passages were discovered and opened out, and
these had a total length of 2,130 ft. The total length of passages
opened out, or which can be clearly traced, now amounts to 5,202 ft. As
is shown later in this section, this by no means exhausts the tale of
passages to be found at Zimbabwe.
_Elliptical Temple_:—
Situation of Passages. Cleared. Traced.
Parallel Passage 193 ft.
Inner Parallel Passage 71 〃
South Passage 73 〃
*West Passage 30 〃 30 ft.
*South Entrance to No. 10
Enclosure 14 〃
_Outside Elliptical Temple_:—
Outer Parallel Passage 125 ft.
*North-East Passage (remainder
of length included in the
“Valley of Ruins” passages) 50 〃
_Acropolis or Hill Ruins_:—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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