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

(a) THE LOWER PARAPET

At the upper end of this 45 ft. length of wall, and on the left-hand side, is a natural parapet artificially improved. This is the Lower Parapet, the outer and left-hand side of which is formed by the summit of a large boulder 25 ft. long, and its highest point not more than 4 ft. 6 in. above the floor of the ascent. From this vantage ground a fine view is obtained of the hills to the south, with the Bentberg (Matusa) directly opposite, and the Elliptical Temple and the valley of Ruins below.

On the inner and right-hand side of the Lower Parapet the rock glacis is surmounted by two terrace walls, really enclosures filled in, the second being behind and higher than the first. The lower terrace wall has a frontage to the south of 24 ft., and the upper terrace wall starts at 14 ft. to the rear of the top of the lower wall. Portions of the higher wall are still intact, and judging by the line of wall débris, it had a frontage to the south of some 20 ft.

Facing the passage at the west end of the Lower Parapet is a wall 3 ft. 6 in. high, running north for 12 ft. The top of this wall is 4 ft. wide, and is built upon a large granite boulder, which beetles considerably at the outer and southern extremity of this wall. The northern end of the wall is wedge-shaped, the point being well made with finely tapering sides. A similar wedged-shaped buttress is to be seen at the entrance to the Upper Parapet, and also on the south side of the east entrance in the interior of the Eastern Temple on Zimbabwe Hill.

The wall thus described acts as a division or parting of the ways, as in the case of the wedge-shaped end of the wall at the Upper Parapet, and a short passage 4 ft. wide and 12 ft. long runs along the west face of the wall to the brink of the boulder which beetles to a steep drop below.

The object of this short passage jutting out from the main ascent to the brink of the boulder’s edge is inexplicable, unless it was intended as a débris shoot, for at the base of the south front of this boulder, and some 20 ft. below, is a large débris pile of past and present Makalanga ashes, pottery, and bones of animals. This is contained in a loose black soil, but the débris of the ancients underlying the obviously Makalanga débris is contained in a light yellow soil the surface of which has become almost as hard as cement. The examination of this lower stratum of débris fully confirms the suggestion that this short passage which terminates, so to speak, in space was one of the spots where the ancients shot their débris.

At the north end of this short side-passage the main ascent takes a long curve for 51 ft. westwards, from south-west to north-west, and is formed on the outer side by a wall 5 ft. to 6 ft. wide on its present reduced summit and from 6 ft. to 9 ft. in height, which runs still ascending to the top end of the 51 ft. length. Here the ascent is steeper than near the Lower Parapet, and steps, and traces of steps, can be seen at several points.

The inner or cliff side of the ascent, from the Lower Parapet to the higher end of the 51 ft. wall on the opposite side, is formed by large walls 3 ft. 6 in. wide on their present summits, and averaging 5 ft. in height, but are built back on a much higher level of foundation than the outer wall of the passage. These inner walls enclose an almost square open space on the inner side of the ascent, the area being 16 ft. on the south-east, 12 ft. on the north-east, and 11 ft. on the north, the lower and south-east wall slanting down-hill towards the passage, so that the lowest corner of the area is at the point where the ascent enters the area. The enclosure is entirely thrown into the passage. This lower corner of the area is about 8 ft. north-west of the wedge-shape dividing wall just described. The arrangement of the walls and of the area, with its lowest point resting on the passage, is most patently an intentional design of the ancient military engineers, as the slanting-down wall on the south-east side would provide room within the area for a hundred defenders, while the narrow passage immediately below where the ascent enters the area could barely have held two invaders fighting abreast. But this narrow point was once much narrower, for the foundations of a projecting buttress, rounded into the lowest corner of the area, are to be seen about 2 ft. above where the south-east wall slopes down-hill to within 3 ft. of the inner face of the outer wall. The foundations of this projecting buttress are very indistinct, and probably will disappear, as, now the buttress has collapsed, visitors walk across the remaining foundation stones as a short cut. The wall débris here suggests that the buttress was a high structure. The Zimbabwe Makalanga headmen, who were watching the clearing operations, informed the author that this buttress was once a high one, but this was in their early days and many years before their kraal was removed from Zimbabwe Hill.

From above the enclosed area to the end of the 51 ft. length of outer wall before mentioned the passage on the inner side is bounded by a wall which runs parallel to the outer wall in its curve from the south-west to the north-west.

From the higher end of the 51 ft. length of wall the passage turns directly west for 43 ft., where it curves to the north-east for 26 ft., averaging a width of 3 ft. 6 in., except just lower than the curve and through its continuation where it narrows to 2 ft. The heights of the outside wall run from 3 ft. to 4 ft. 6 in. before it reaches the curve. On the inner side wall of the lowest part of this length the wall is much broken, especially a length of 11 ft., which once held dentelle pattern, facing south.