There are no traces of round towers on this wall, but three slate monoliths and one of granite are still more or less erect on the higher portion of the wall. Two slate monoliths were found by the writer at the inner base of the wall, and these would have made the line equi-distant.
East side of temple.—This is 36 ft. long. The first 10 ft. from the south side is a débris heap; from 10 ft. to 26 ft. is a wall rounding towards the east, and this wall is 18 ft. 6 in. high; 26 ft. to 29 ft. is the Covered Passage where the wall is 9 ft. over the passage; 29 ft. to 36 ft. is a wall extending to The Platform, where the height of the wall is 14 ft. from the lower end of the boulder some 9 ft. above the pile of débris lying on the floor. It is at this point that the north wall before described commences.
Centre of arc.—Schlichter suggested that the centres of the arcs of those massive and decorated walls, which are curved either towards the west or east, might have had some peculiar importance in the minds of the ancient builders. This suggestion is based on his examination, not only of the temples at Zimbabwe, but of the larger elliptical buildings elsewhere in the country.
At the centre of the arc of the curved, decorated, and massively built west wall in the Western Temple on the Acropolis (and this is the widest wall yet discovered in Rhodesia) a discovery has been made which may possibly bear on the question of the orientation of these temples, though in the matter of orientation or otherwise it would be much safer to keep an open mind till more information can be placed before accredited experts acquainted with this branch of science.
The spot marked R on Bent’s plan—“centre of arc of great wall”—was covered on the surface by a very old Makalanga daga floor broken in pieces by an old and decayed tree. These loose slabs of clay flooring having been removed, about 2 ft. depth of blocks and soil was found. The blocks had no relative position to one another, and they were in all positions. Immediately below this débris was found a yellow granite cement structure. This is semi-circular in shape, measuring 11 ft. 8 in. round the curved base from end to end. The straight back part is 6 ft. 3 in. across. The structure is formed by two rounded curved rims, one on the other, the top one receding 4 in. from the face of the lower one. The lower rim is 1 ft. high, and the upper one 8 in. The structure is hollow to a depth of 9 in., and the interior extends evenly all round to within 10 in. from the front upper face of the structure.
At 8 ft. 6 in. from the centre of the front of this structure, and immediately due south behind it, is a granite cement cone in splendid condition. This cone is 4 ft. 11 in. in circumference at base, and is 1 ft. 4 in. high. At 10 in. due east of the first cone is a smaller one with a circumference at base of 2 ft. 4 in., and this is 6 in. high. The semi-circular structure and the two cones are connected by a flooring of the same excellent quality of cement, and are structurally one.
On following the cement floor towards the north-east it was found to be decomposed by water and to have become like bright yellow clay. The lowest part of the surface of the interior of the eastern end of this temple is at this point, and from it rain-water could not escape. This decomposed cement was swagged and depressed considerably by the damp, but it was easily followed for 28 ft. 6 in. The granite cement floor runs in all directions from the semi-circular structure, but in most parts it is still solid, exceedingly hard, and in good condition.
At the 28 ft. 6 in. point and at 5 ft. below the filled-in surface of the interior of the temple a cement cylinder was found. This is beautifully rounded and has four bevelled bosses, equi-distant, on its side. The cylinder was found upon a platform of the best cement yet discovered at Zimbabwe. It has a diameter of 1 ft. 8 in., is 5 in. high, and has a circumference at the curved-in base of rounded side of 4 ft. 2 in. The bosses or knobs, which are bevelled, project outwards 1 in. The side is formed by three flat bevelled faces running all round, the centre bevelled face projecting half an inch beyond the others. The top is level, and the bottom part curves inwards at its base. The cylinder is perfectly free of any damage and is without the slightest scratch on its smooth surface. The workmanship is of so excellent a character that it is still almost equal in design and construction to any similar object that could be turned out at a European workshop.
The cylinder stands on a platform at 3 ft. 6 in. from its front on west side, the face of the platform being formed of two almost semi-circular faces meeting and turning inwards some few inches eastwards towards the cylinder. The platform is 1 ft. 1 in. high on the northern curve, the southern extremity being well rounded off, while the northern extremity runs into and under a bank of débris not yet cleared away.
The “finds” at the centre of the arc in this temple included the usual unpleasing emblems of Nature Worship; a piece of forked iron, more rust than iron, with six gold bosses the size of peas at equi-distant points; these are riveted on the iron with corresponding gold bosses on the opposite side, the rivets through the iron being of gold; a sheet of beaten gold 3½ in. by 2¼ in., also some fragments of beaten gold and gold tacks; fragments of soapstone bowls and beams, old pottery, some peculiarly shaped natural stones, including serpentine stones, and an Isafuba game stone.