protect them against the prevailing winds and drifting rains; (5) that _after_ carrying on these gold-smelting operations extensively and for a considerable period, they built a wall across the open space and upon their furnace-slag beds, possibly employing native labour (the Makalanga being notorious for their skill in wall building); and (6) that these Arabs also built several of the enclosures in the central and western parts of the temple to suit their special convenience, and altogether regardless of the buried foundations of the ancient builders. DESTRUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL WEST WALL It may be asked what caused the destruction of the original west wall. Its disappearance may be accounted for as follows. The south and west walls have for centuries borne the full brunt of all the torrential rain and storm water which rushes to these points from the Bentberg Kopjes, which lie close to the temple on the south side. This accounts for the great depth of silted soil which buries the old cement flooring. This must have washed the lower portions of the walls till the cement foundations decomposed and brought down the structure as it has done at other ruins at Zimbabwe. The writer at the commencement of his first rainy season at Zimbabwe found a large pool about 30 yds. in length, 15 yds. in breadth, and 2 ft. in depth up against the present west wall, towards which all surface water from the higher ground rushed unchanged. This had been going on every rainy season for many generations, with the result of forming large cavities under the foundations, and of keeping the wall in a constant drip with damp even at noontide, and of causing the spread of large moss over the walls, while shrubs and small trees grew out of the walls at some height from their base. Trenches and runs-off and banks soon cured this evil, and now the walls have changed from being black with damp to being grey with dryness. The moss has naturally flaked off, and the trees and shrubs in the walls are dead, owing to lack of moisture. THE ACROPOLIS RUINS WESTERN TEMPLE Operations in this temple since the description of the earlier work was embodied in the text of this volume have been carried on to June, 1904. Soil to a depth of from 3 ft. to 5 ft. was removed from the whole of the eastern portion of this area. The excavations showed several layers of native clay floors one above another. The “finds” were those known to be of native origin, though not made by natives of to-day. The later or native period of gold manufacture was greatly in evidence, beaten gold, gold tacks, and gold wire being frequently met with in association with copper sheathing, copper assegai- and arrow-heads, the copper containing no alloy.