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

But our stay within these massive walls was brief. The writer would have over two years in which to wander in their labyrinthine passages, and to examine their architectural features, and compare them with those of Rhodesian ruins elsewhere, but his friends must start back to Victoria before sunrise next day. On our way to the other important ruins—the Acropolis or Hill Fortress—we visited the grave of Major Alan Wilson and his party[15] who were killed on the Shangani during the flight of King Lo ’Bengula in 1893.

We climbed up the 230 feet to the Acropolis ruins, but our visit here also was brief. We clambered round the summits of the walls of the two temples, which have a score of monoliths still standing, more or less erect, and penetrated some of the most intricate passages. The feeling experienced here was one of intense wonder and bewilderment at the stupendous walls erected at such a height, walls which must have taken years to build, and all of granite blocks. The view from the summit is among the finest in Rhodesia. We watched the sunset glow fading on the white walls of the Elliptical Temple below, and then descended to prepare the huts for the night and arrange the stores in their proper quarters. Later, when the round moon one day off the full was shining, we sat outside the huts watching the effects shown on the western temple on the hill where the monoliths high up above us stood out against the greenish moonlit sky. At 4 a.m. the mules were inspanned in the wagon, and my friends took their departure, leaving me alone among ruins and natives.

As soon as the sun was fairly up, M’Guti, the native police boy, arrived from Mogabe’s kraal, followed by a crowd of “boys,” all most anxious for work. The majority were young men, and the total clothing of the crowd did not amount to three square yards of calico. They all squatted down in a semi-circle in front of the main hut while M’Guti delivered a long oration, but as he was wearing khaki regimentals and had his steel handcuffs (evidently a badge of authority) lying in front of him, the sustaining influence of office possessed him. Finally, all the details were settled, a roll was made up, and the names recorded.

Later, the Mogabe, Handisibishe, and his headmen arrived, and a long indaba took place, M’Guti interpreting. Mogabe recognised the likenesses of Mr. and Mrs. Bent, and that of the previous Mogabe—Chipfuno, his brother. Salt and tobacco sent Mogabe happy away, and next day a large gourd of doro (native beer) and some sweet potatoes arrived at the camp as a present.

The view from the summit of the Acropolis may be described as follows:—

South.—Towards the south and in the nearer distance, and 250 feet below in the valley, the venerable and lichened walls of the Elliptical Temple rise out of luxuriantly green vegetation. So much below the Acropolis cliffs is this temple that one sees over its broken north walls into the interior and on to the floors of some of the enclosures. The summit of the conical tower peeps out from among the giant fig-trees that flourish in the interior of the building. At this distance the white monoliths along the eastern wall, though clearly defined against the dark foliage, seem dwarfed. In almost the same line of view, but slightly eastwards and nearer, and on the north-east side of the temple, is the “Valley of Ruins,” full of enclosures, passages, entrances, and walls, which up to 1902 had remained practically unexplored by white men. Nearer still is the wagon-track passing Havilah Camp and winding eastwards towards the Mapaku Ruins (“Little Zimbabwe”) and the Motelekwe[16] River seven miles distant. A hundred yards east of the temple on an open granite space overlooking the Valley of Ruins is the site of the camp of Dr. Schlichter, who visited the Zimbabwe ruins in 1897. Immediately behind this spot and between it and the foot of the Bentberg (Motusa) is the veld land ploughed by Messrs. Posselt in 1888–9.

GREAT ZIMBABWE RESERVE

Still looking south and slightly eastwards of the temple is the Schlichter Gorge, down which the Mapudzi flows towards the south. At the southern end of the gorge is a succession of ranges of kopjes of fantastic shape descending into, and again rising from, the Mowishawasha Valley, and becoming lost in the blue distance. The Bentberg Kopje, which forms a dark background for the temple, shows its immense flanks of granite glacis and boulders. Here some fifty years ago was the chief local kraal of the Barotse, who had settlements among the Makalanga of this part of the country, and on the north-eastern side of the hill are still to be seen the remains of ancient walls, while a clump of castor-oil trees at the foot of the hill on this side marks the site of Theodore Bent’s camp (June and July, 1891).

Slightly to the west of the temple and almost immediately in front of it are No. 1 Ruins, the walls of which are crowned with aloes and euphorbias. Less than a hundred yards west of these ruins are the Ridge Ruins, on a bare granite ridge, on the east side of which was the camp of Sir John Willoughby, who excavated portions of the ruins (November and December, 1892). Fifty yards behind the Ridge Ruins is the Zimbabwe Spring, marked by a group of trees, where most excellent water can be obtained, even during the driest season. It was close to these trees that Messrs. Posselt had their camp in 1888–9. Nearer than Ridge Ruins is the little graveyard where is the granite tomb of Major Alan Wilson and his party. Just a few yards nearer is Havilah Camp, where one can just see the natives moving to and fro across the open spaces between the huts. Behind the Bentberg and further south is broken country, with Lumbo Rocks, one of the landmarks of the district, rising from the summit of a rugged hill like a column piled up against the sky, its lichen mantle showing brilliant red in the sunset. Here is the line of high ground which separates the plateau of Mashonaland from the lower valley of the Limpopo River, the incline in the contour being both steep and abrupt. This also divides the watershed of the Motelekwe from that of the Tokwe.[17] In this southern view are scattered many Makalanga kraals, several of which are perched up in almost inaccessible rocky eyries; also some romantic valleys, kloofs, and stretches of park-like land studded with patches of thick woods.