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

ACROPOLIS RUINS
Zimbabwe

In fact, the ascent by this ancient approach now occupies a little more than half the time required to walk round by the circuitous path till recently used by visitors, besides affording to the climber a revelation as to the ingenuity and wonderful engineering skill of the ancients in effecting the defence of the hill. Unless this ancient approach be traversed by the visitor, one of the principal features provided by the Acropolis or Hill Ruins will have been missed.

SOUTH-EAST ANCIENT ASCENT

Leaving the huts at Havilah Camp, which occupy a low granite knoll on the north side of the Shangani Grave and overlook the narrow valley running at the south foot of the hill, one crosses the outspan and passes through the “Outspan Ruins,”[58] which face the camp at a distance of 70 yds. due north, which ruins are part of an inner line of defence wall running round the base of the hill on the west, south, and east sides, and which lie within the main outer wall sweeping round from the west side of the Elliptical Temple to the north side of Zimbabwe Hill, enclosing the large water-holes believed to have been made by the ancients. From the ascent facing the camp a newly-cut path leads in a direct line up some 70 ft. higher towards the ancient approach, but with a slight trend to the east.

Before striking the walls of the passage-way, the path crosses at right angles the foundations of some seven or eight outer defence walls and walls of terraces and buried enclosures all rising in tiers one above and at the back of the other. The soil here is black with ash débris, and in cutting the rough steps in the path to the ascent, each shovelful of this black soil contained a large quantity of broken pottery and bones of animals. This débris on being examined shows most evidently that it is not ancient; further, it is pronounced by local natives to have been thrown out from the ruins above by previous generations of Makalanga, but not by the mediæval Makalanga, who, according to Portuguese records (1560 to 1750), occupied these ruins as one of the courts or chief residences of the succession of dynastic chiefs, each known as the Monomotapa or “The Lord of the Mines.” This débris is believed to cover that of the mediæval Makalanga and of the ancients, for all débris would by the formation of the cliff above be guided to this part of the lower southern slope, and the heavy downfalls of very many rainy seasons would distribute it over the steep face of the southern slope, and spread it into the valley, where any quantity of such débris may be found.

The path from the camp strikes the ancient ascent at 70 ft. above the valley. The length of the approach, measured in the centre of the passage in all its turnings, is 349 ft. from this point to its termination on the summit of the precipice. It extends in a westerly direction from the 70 ft. to the 210 ft. level on the hill. This passage can be traced downwards into the valley to clear of the end of the kopje for 420 yds.

The ascent is, for an ancient ruin, in a remarkably good state of preservation, except at a few points where whole lengths of walls have fallen into the narrow passage which runs between high walls. All this wall débris, which effectively blocked the passage, has just recently been removed. At one point the end of a wall had collapsed bodily into the passage, and being on higher ground had filled it up to the height of the walls below, but this débris has also been cleared away, so that visitors can now walk without the slightest hindrance up the ascent on practically what was the ancient flooring, and ascend the old flights of steps. To such an extent had the passage become choked up that it required some fifteen native labourers, working at different points, no less than four days to cut away sufficient growth as would enable a mere scramble to be made over the débris in the passages, while the thorough clearing away of wall débris occupied the whole gang for nearly a fortnight. Now that this ancient ascent has been made an easy approach, this passage to the summit of Zimbabwe Hill has become the most popular ascent.

The chief architectural features represented in the ascent are the (a) Lower Parapet, (b) the Rock Passage, and (c) the Upper Parapet, as also the flights of steps occurring in several lengths.

The point where the path from the camp strikes this ancient ascent is not its most easterly extremity nor its lowest point, for, as before stated, this passage can be traced for 420 yds. further east, where its emergence into the valley is protected by one, if not two, large fort-like ruins of some importance.

On turning into the ascent from the camp path, an outer wall on the left-hand side runs for 42 ft. 6 in., and this wall is now only about 2 ft. high. The foundations are 4 ft. wide. The upper courses of this wall are not ancient, though the foundations and lower courses undoubtedly are, for it is evident that blocks which have fallen from terrace walls overlooking the passage into the ascent have been laid neatly, probably by mediæval Makalanga, on the tops of the wall which had already become ruined. The right-hand side of the ascent from this point, for a length of 65 ft., is formed by huge boulders. The passage throughout this length is 3 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. wide.