Great Zimbabwe, Mashonaland, Rhodesia / An account of two years' examination work in 1902-4 on behalf of the government of Rhodesia

by R. N. Hall

THE WATER GATE RUINS

This is situated at the lowest extremity of the North-West Ancient Ascent to the Acropolis, and forms its approach and entrance from the valley on the west and north sides of Zimbabwe Hill. It has been styled the Water Gate on account of there being immediately in front of it a large donga (water-hole), one of the chain of dongas which run round the hill from the south-west to the north-east, and are believed to be artificial, but have become reduced from the original area and depth by the silting in from the side of the hill during a very long period of sub-tropical rains. Sections of walls have been discovered at great depth in these dongas.

This entrance forms part of a long line of wall which runs round the base of the hill for some two or three hundred yards, and is called the Inner Defence Wall, in which on the south-west side of the hill is another large entrance, known as the Outspan Ruins. This line of wall is in some places very well defined, being from 2 ft. to 4 ft. above the level of the veld, but some lengths of it are mere lines of stone débris or ridges of mounds full of blocks; but seen from some heights up the face of the opposite hill it can be traced throughout its length.

The gateway is exceedingly well constructed, and the curves of the ends of the walls which form its sides are very bold and massive. Though it is distant over 900 ft. from the main ruins on the summit of the hill, it must be admitted to be a very good example of entrances of the earliest ancient period. But the construction of the wall on either side of this entrance, and at some little distance from it, becomes only fairly good, and at a still greater distance roughly built, and yet the entrance and the line of wall are of the same original plan. This grading off of the quality of construction on either side of the entrance and at some little distance from it is also seen in many other entrances which are not in proximity to the main ruins. The line of the Inner Defence Wall in which this entrance is inserted curves outwards towards the west-north-west from about 30 ft. on either side of it. The entrance is thus in the centre of the curve, and faces west-north-west. It is 2 ft. 10 in. wide, and 7 ft. from outside to inside. The side wall on the south is 7 ft. 6 in. high above the steps, and on the north 5 ft. 6 in., though on either side the present reduced summit of the wall is from 2 ft. to 4 ft. higher at a few feet from the entrance. Like all main entrances, save one, at Zimbabwe, it is without portcullis grooves, these having been found in rounded entrances in internal and divisional walls. The wall on the south side is 8 ft. wide on the floor of the entrance, and 7 ft. 6 in. on the north side. There are remains of three steps on the entrance which commence flush with the front faces of the two side walls. These are greatly dilapidated, but it can be seen that they form part of the foundations of the wall. One stone of what is left in the front row is considerably worn on the top, as if it had been trodden on for many generations.

As in very many entrances of the earliest style of ancient architecture—for instance, the main entrance to the Elliptical Temple—the walls on either side widen out as they approach the entrance. In this instance the walls widen out from 4 ft. and 5 ft. to 8 ft. as the entrance is neared. There are also traces of buttresses on either hand on the inner sides of the entrance, also of a few steps ascending into the interior of the enclosed area.

The front face of the wall on the north side is 5 ft. above the veld, but the summit increases in height towards the interior face of the wall, as most of the dilapidations have taken place on the outer side of the wall. The front face of the south wall is 7 ft. in height, and the summit of this wall ascends much higher towards its inner face. At 12 ft. from the entrance, along the face of the south wall, it is clearly seen where the excellent workmanship of the entrance grades off to an inferior construction in the continuation of the wall southwards. The line of wall on the south side is more or less intact for 48 ft., at which point it becomes lost in débris and silted soil, though its line of route can of course be traced much further. The wall on the north side extends for 90 ft., but from this point northward it is very easy to follow the course of its débris.

The interior faces of the wall, for about 30 ft. on either side of the entrance, are still in a good condition, and are from 4 ft. to 7 ft. above the inside cleared-out level.

On the inner face of the south wall, at 5 ft. above the present level of the enclosed area, is a herring-bone pattern which directly faces east-south-east. The pattern remaining is 3 ft. 6 in. long, and 1 ft. 2 in. deep, and is formed of tile-like blocks, varying from 10 in. to 1 ft. 3 in. in length. Judging by the positions of the stones, it is highly probable that this pattern extends at least 2 ft. further towards the entrance. The usual frame for this pattern, and also for Dentelle and Chevron Patterns, is still good for three courses at its south end. The size of the stones employed in this pattern is above the average size used for the same pattern in other ruins, and is somewhat larger than those in the pattern at Little Umnukwana Ruins, in the M’Pateni district, where the average length of the stones is 10 in. So far this is the only herring-bone pattern discovered at Zimbabwe. It was first noticed by Mr. J. W. Clarke, of Victoria, in September, 1902.

From immediately behind this entrance the north-west face of the hills rises very sharply, so much so that the rains of many years have silted soil to a great depth behind the walls. Rain-water would naturally be guided by the contour of this part of the hill towards this entrance, so that the area behind it has become filled up to a very much higher level than in the time of the original occupiers. Some two dozen cubic feet of this silted soil was cleared out of the entrance in October, 1902, and while the work was progressing a heavy storm, lasting only an hour, broke over Zimbabwe. On visiting the entrance later in the day it was found that this one shower had caused the almost entire filling up of the excavation by mud streams, which had washed down the side of the hill.

Immediately in front of the outer faces of this entrance and running parallel with this length of the Inner Defence Wall, and at a distance of 90 ft. from it, are the remains of a line of wall almost hidden in débris. This wall can be traced for a distance of at least 130 ft., and there appears to have been a passage or entrance through it at a point almost due north of the Water Gate. Further to the north and north-west of this wall is a donga, and on the north-north-west of this donga runs the outer defence wall, which is at least 600 yds. long, and encloses the line of dongas from west of the Elliptical Temple with the north-east of the base of Zimbabwe Hill. In this Outer Defence Wall is an opening, and in all probability, judging by the arrangement of the wall débris and the contour of the ground, a gateway or entrance was once situated at this point. This opening in the Outer Defence Wall, the traces of an entrance in the ruined wall in front of the Water Gate, and the Water Gate entrance are all in one line, and the line is further made complete by the remains of two small walls in the donga itself, which equally divide its width, as if these walls either carried or supported a bridge; or at any rate afforded the means for crossing the donga. In fact, the size of these dongas and their relative positions appear to indicate that on this side of the hill the Acropolis was further defended by water. These two small walls show signs of having had rounded entrances in their centres.

Taking into consideration the line of the three entrances, the fact that the ancient ascent through the Water Gate leads into the heart of the main ruins of the Acropolis, and further that the contour of the ground beyond the Outer Defence Wall indicates the direction in which a road from Zimbabwe to the north and north-west must take, it is reasonable to conjecture that the ancient road from Zimbabwe in that direction passed on the north side of the Makuma Kopje, on which Mogabe’s kraal is now located.