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) 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.
• • • • •
_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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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