The ruined cities of Mashonaland: Being a record of excavation and exploration in 1891Bent, J. Theodore (James Theodore)
History
The ruined cities of Mashonaland: Being a record of excavation and exploration in 1891
Bent, J. Theodore (James Theodore)
Extinct cities -- Zimbabwe -- Mashonaland; Great Zimbabwe (Extinct city)
The most important feature in the interior of the temple is, of course,
the great tower, which is a marvel of workmanship in rough material,
and in the truth of its lines almost as wonderful as the column of a
Greek temple. We could at first discover no reason for its being built
in its peculiar position. It has not been placed with any reference to
the points of the compass nor to the bearing of the sun at the
equinoxes, and its position is only indirectly connected with the
position of the sun at the solstices. But it is in the middle of the
space marked off by the two inner doorways, and the more easterly of
these two doorways is at the point where the sun would appear when
rising at the summer solstice when regarded from the central altar, as
will be shown farther on; and the other doorway is at the point where
the decoration on the outer wall terminates, and that is at the part of
the wall where the sun’s rays would be tangential to its curve when
rising at the same solstice. The portion of the outer wall behind the
above-mentioned sacred enclosure is built in the form of a circular arc
with its two extremities at B and K, and its centre at P, and the tower
stands midway between these points. Close to the great tower is the
little one, and no reason for its position suggests itself; but the
relative proportions of the two towers are curious, and seem to offer
an explanation of the plan of some other parts of the building—in fact,
the diameter of the great tower seems to have represented the unit of
measure in the construction of the curves of the outer walls and of all
the regularly curved inner walls in the great temple, and in all the
well-built temples in Mashonaland. The diameter of the great tower at
its base is 17·17 feet or 10 cubits, [9] and this is exactly equal to
the circumference of the little tower. This ratio of circumference to
diameter and the above measure of 10 cubits seem together to have
determined either the length of the radius or diameter, or halves of
these, of all the circular curves on which many of the walls are built.
For instance, the radius of the curve behind the great tower is 169⅓
feet, and this is equal to the diameter of the great tower multiplied
by the square of the ratio of circumference to diameter; or 17·17 ×
3·142 = 169·34. The well-built partly circular enclosure to the
north-west of the tower has a diameter of 54 feet, and this is equal to
17·17 × 3·14. The curve of the outer wall, from the eastern end of the
sacred enclosure (at K) to A is circular, and has its centre at the
altar, and its radius is 107⅘ feet. This is equal to twice 17·17 ×
3·14. This length of 107⅘ feet is also the exact distance between the
middle points of the two doorways at either end of the sacred
enclosure. The curve of the outer wall from A to the great doorway
seems to have a similar radius to the arc behind the tower, namely,
169⅓ feet, but in our measurements there we hardly fixed a sufficient
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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