The south wall is now only 8 ft. to 9 ft., and on the inside face has a row of five vertical recesses built in the wall and flush with its face. These are altogether unlike anything yet discovered in any ancient ruins,[62] except, perhaps, at No. 1 Ruin at Khami. The widths of the faces of the wall between the recesses from north to south are 2 ft. 4 in., 1 ft. 9 in., 1 ft. 10 in., 1 ft. 7 in., and 1 ft. 8 in., and these are separated from each other by perpendicular crevices, each 5 in. wide. Most probably the recesses were once considerably higher. What practical purpose they could have served is at present impossible to state, but it has always been held that they probably once contained wooden beams.
WEST WALL, RECESS ENCLOSURE, ACROPOLIS
THE RECESSES, RECESS ENCLOSURE, ACROPOLIS
The north-west entrance has rounded walls, and from the east side of this entrance are the remains of a passage wall running south. This wall is 6 ft. long, 2 ft. 6 in. high, and 2 ft. 6 in. wide; the foundations of this wall run almost as far as the south wall of the enclosure.
All the walls of this enclosure are well built.
In the north-east corner is an excavated hole, showing a wall running parallel to the east wall at a depth lower than the present floor of the enclosure. The north end of the east wall is beautifully rounded and tapers from its base to present summit, its face forming the south side of the east end of Pattern Passage.
NORTH PLATEAU
This plateau is situated to the north of the Eastern Temple and at the north of the cliffs, which form its north-east and north sides. Its shape is that of a quarter of a circle—the east side being formed by cliffs running towards the north-east, and the south side by huge boulders running out towards the north-west, the apex being at the north end of the North Passage of the Eastern Temple. The area from north to south is 67 ft., and from east to west 53 ft., the outer and open side being supported by a terrace wall extending along the front for 43 ft. This terraced wall is well built for this length. It has a drop from the outer surface edge of this plateau of 11 ft. Traces of a continuation of this wall across the gorge on the north side on to the opposite shoulder of the kopje can be seen; but the Makalanga state that the superstructure built upon these traces was made by their people long ago, and, indeed, this is very obvious. A Makalanga-built wall juts out from the north-east side a few feet towards the Visitors’ Path to this plateau. The plateau is covered with the clay foundations of the circular huts of the Makalanga, who up to four years ago had their kraal on the northern summit of the hill.